Rumors rename 'iPhone 7s' to 'iPhone 8,' leaving moniker for Apple's $1000+ OLED model up ...

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
A pair of reports from differing sources claim that Apple has allegedly shifted branding of the 2017 iPhones, with the "iPhone 7s" family now being called the "iPhone 8" -- but the name of the high-end OLED device is in conflict between the two sources.




On Friday, a fresh rumor suggested that the "s" cycle will be skipped this time around, for the first time since the third refresh of the iPhone in June 2009. The report by iculture.nl claims that the phone formerly designated by rumormongers as the "iPhone 8" would in fact be called the "iPhone X" (pronounced as ten) -- a name previously bandied about, and still informally used by one Wall Street analyst.

Separately, a pair of accessory and case makers on the floor of Berlin's IFA trade show also told 9to5Mac that the new iPhones were going to eschew the "iPhone 7s" branding, and skip straight to the "iPhone 8" name for the entire range. Those same sources claimed the high-end phone would be called the "iPhone 8 Edition," not "iPhone X."

The second report claims information on the new iPhone names was gleaned from a major global carrier, and confirmed by some case manufacturers.

Both accounts can't be correct. Final packaging and marketing choices are likely amongst the last to be made, as ramping up cardboard box manufacture takes significantly less time than phone design and assembly does.





Also not clear is exactly how much information case manufacturers have during the iPhone development cycle, or how much general staff at carriers are told before official release. In the past, case manufacturers have bet on accuracy of rumors, and have sometimes been burned by the gamble.

Regardless of what they are ultimately called, Apple is expected to announce three new iPhones with the high-end OLED model, and two other devices expected at a Sept. 12 press event. Also expected is a refresh of the Apple TV adding 4K video as a playback option, and an LTE-equipped Apple Watch.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 60
    iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8 Pro...Although I am not sure Pro makes sense here...
    cornchip
  • Reply 2 of 60
    Blame the Internet for the change. 
    doozydozen
  • Reply 3 of 60
    jmg8650jmg8650 Posts: 4unconfirmed, member
    "iphone 8 edition" or 'iphone edition" makes no sense, just let it be 8, 8 plus (for large one) and 8 pro (for high end)
  • Reply 4 of 60
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    iPhone X Edition make sense as next year there will be back to 2 iPhones(besides SE). Unless Apple surprises with iPhone 8s, 8s Plus, iPhone X1 Edition, and new 6.44" iPhone X1 Edition Plus with Pencil..
    edited September 2017 xzuScot1
  • Reply 5 of 60
    Unless Apple is planning to introduce a $10,000 gold iPhone, I'd bet money against there being an "iPhone Edition" (or any other use of "Edition" as a stand-alone modifier).
    edited September 2017 lolliver
  • Reply 6 of 60
    jdgazjdgaz Posts: 403member
    Lets call the new one Mobility.
  • Reply 7 of 60
    iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8 Pro...Although I am not sure Pro makes sense here...
    Pretty sure the super special one won't be called "Pro" either.  In this instance "limited edition" actually makes sense, since (if the reports are to be believe) they will be in limited supply thanks to the cutting edge features.  Oh, how about iPhone BE (for bleeding edge).
    watto_cobraronn
  • Reply 8 of 60
    sog35 said:
    This makes some sense.

    iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 8 Pro.

    I like it.
    I do too.

    I certainly hope it's not called the Edition. Apple will double the price.

    (Just noticed that @randominternetperson had a roughly similar post...)
    edited September 2017
  • Reply 9 of 60
    iPhone 8/8S Plus for standard versions really doesn’t make sense ( the only visible variation’ll be to the glass instead of alluminium ). 
    7S/S Plus will be good. 
    For the exclusive model we usually called iPhone 8 I think they will choose for XE or Edition or simply X ! 
  • Reply 10 of 60
    robjnrobjn Posts: 280member
    Apple have not "changed the name". The Media invented the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 8" names.

    Apple were never going to release a '7s' and an '8' at the same time!

    "iPhone Pro" was a far better guess than "iPhone 8" for the higher tier phone.

    The so called "7s" is actually a major redesign of the 7 which has been consistently misrepresented in the media as a "minor update".

    I long argued for "iPhone Edition" because I think Apple need to kind of 'anti-sell' the constrained, high end phone. They need to send the message that the high end phone is not the standard phone for most customers. Calling it the "Edition" will achieve this.

    Hyperealitybb-15doozydozenredgeminipa
  • Reply 11 of 60
    sog35 said:
    This makes some sense.

    iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 8 Pro.

    I like it.
    I do too.

    I certainly hope it's not called the Edition. Apple will double the price.

    (Just noticed that @randominternetperson had a roughly similar post...)
    Yeah, "Apple Watch Edition" is a pet peeve of mine.  
  • Reply 12 of 60
    robjn said:
    Apple have not "changed the name". The Media invented the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 8" names.

    Apple were never going to release a '7s' and an '8' at the same time!

    "iPhone Pro" was a far better guess than "iPhone 8" for the higher tier phone.

    The so called "7s" is actually a major redesign of the 7 which has been consistently misrepresented in the media as a "minor update".

    I long argued for "iPhone Edition" because I think Apple need to kind of 'anti-sell' the constrained, high end phone. They need to send the message that the high end phone is not the standard phone for most customers. Calling it the "Edition" will achieve this.

    Why is it not the standard phone? Because Apple can’t produce enough? Or is it a status thing; Apple saying only certain customers (i.e. those with $$$) are worthy of the Edition model?
    78Banditdoozydozen
  • Reply 13 of 60
    If it's not going to be the iPhone 8, then iPhone Pro makes sense, leave the 8 out all together, like they do with almost every other product (I think other than the phone, only the iPad mini 4 has a version number in it's name).  The number never made much sense anyway when they don't bump it with every new model and the 2nd one was called 3G for the cell technology, not as a version number.
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 14 of 60
    robjn said:
    Apple have not "changed the name". The Media invented the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 8" names.

    Apple were never going to release a '7s' and an '8' at the same time!

    "iPhone Pro" was a far better guess than "iPhone 8" for the higher tier phone.

    The so called "7s" is actually a major redesign of the 7 which has been consistently misrepresented in the media as a "minor update".

    I long argued for "iPhone Edition" because I think Apple need to kind of 'anti-sell' the constrained, high end phone. They need to send the message that the high end phone is not the standard phone for most customers. Calling it the "Edition" will achieve this.

    Why is it not the standard phone? Because Apple can’t produce enough? Or is it a status thing; Apple saying only certain customers (i.e. those with $$$) are worthy of the Edition model?
    Presumably because of supply constraints.  Which is why the "Edition" name is stupid even if you like "Apple Watch Edition."  There was NOTHING about the Apple Watch Edition that was functionally better than Apple Watch Sport or Apple Watch.  "Edition" means nothing more or less than "premium materials for a premium price."  That would not the narrative for a "cutting edge" no-bezel no-button OLED iPhone.
    doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 60
    I've been of the opinion for quite some time that there would be no 7s...just an 8 and 8+ and just OLED...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 60
    Unless there is some unrumored feature yet to be revealed there is nothing "Pro" about the AMOLED device.  The rumored 6.42" competitor to the Galaxy Note could be considered pro if it has Apple Pencil capabilities built in, but so far the "8" "X" "Edition" "whatever" looks like a much overdue evolution of the basic iPhone and is what Apple should have produced last year as the new 7.

    Even calling the revised LCD phones based on a four-year-old design the 8 and 8 Plus is ridiculous.  They represent at least two generations of stagnation and are not worthy of carrying the flagship nomenclature.

    I'm going to give credence to this rumor though as it is precisely what I would expect from Tim Cook.  Try and fool people by giving outdated designs a new model designation and convince them the new "Pro" model is something extraordinary when it is simply getting back to parity with what other competitors are already doing.
    entropysdoozydozenavon b7
  • Reply 17 of 60
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,335member
    Apple really needs to both simplify and personalize their product line naming schema across the board. The iPhone is actually one of their most coherent schemas compared to the naming of their MacBook (Pro) and iPad product lines. Simply adding a number with a modifier, e.g., iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7s, etc., makes it very easy for the Me Too Copycats like Samsung to copy Apple's naming schema to infer either parity or better. People will obviously assume that a Samsung phone with "7" in its name is "comparable" to the iPhone 7 and something with "8" in the name is newer or better. Using the release year would result in the same behavior since Samsung would simply start releasing their 2019 named phones in 2018 or earlier, just like automobile manufacturers have done for decades. 

    One potential cure to the copycat effect would be for Apple to give products highly personalized names in a manner similar to macOS "High Sierra." If Apple were to release an iPhone with a name like "Spitfire" or "TomCat" then it would be highly unlikely that copy-master Samsung would copy that sort of name for their own "comparable" product. Perhaps I give Samsung too much credit, but I cannot imagine that they would stoop to such a low level as to copy a product name like "Spitfire" or "TomCat." They do have a high tolerance for shame - but copying a personalized name would probably go a bit too far.

    I'm not suggesting that Apple use those names or anything like the names used by Google and Ubuntu for their respective operating system versions, but there is some rationale in applying a small amount of personalization filter to fend off the copiers like Samsung who operate at the blatantly stupid level.  
    randominternetpersonwatto_cobraviclauyycredgeminiparadarthekat
  • Reply 18 of 60
    How 'bout:

    iPhone seXy ?
    doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 60
    78Bandit said:
    Unless there is some unrumored feature yet to be revealed there is nothing "Pro" about the AMOLED device.  The rumored 6.42" competitor to the Galaxy Note could be considered pro if it has Apple Pencil capabilities built in, but so far the "8" "X" "Edition" "whatever" looks like a much overdue evolution of the basic iPhone and is what Apple should have produced last year as the new 7.

    Even calling the revised LCD phones based on a four-year-old design the 8 and 8 Plus is ridiculous.  They represent at least two generations of stagnation and are not worthy of carrying the flagship nomenclature.

    I'm going to give credence to this rumor though as it is precisely what I would expect from Tim Cook.  Try and fool people by giving outdated designs a new model designation and convince them the new "Pro" model is something extraordinary when it is simply getting back to parity with what other competitors are already doing.
    Great suggestion.  Perhaps iPhone GS ("generations of stagnation") for the cheap one and iPhone B2P ("back to parity") for the premium one?  The mid-range... how about iPhone OD ("outdated design").

    The problem with that is consumers will have a hard time remembering which (inferior, stagnant) model is which when they are throwing the money at Apple like mindless sheep.

    Personally, I'll probably go with the GS model this time around.
    doozydozencornchipStrangeDayswatto_cobraavon b7radarthekat
  • Reply 20 of 60
    bb-15bb-15 Posts: 283member
    robjn said:
    Apple have not "changed the name". The Media invented the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 8" names.

    Apple were never going to release a '7s' and an '8' at the same time!

    "iPhone Pro" was a far better guess than "iPhone 8" for the higher tier phone.

    The so called "7s" is actually a major redesign of the 7 which has been consistently misrepresented in the media as a "minor update".

    I long argued for "iPhone Edition" because I think Apple need to kind of 'anti-sell' the constrained, high end phone. They need to send the message that the high end phone is not the standard phone for most customers. Calling it the "Edition" will achieve this.

    My guess is also for iPhone Edition name for the OLED design. 
    - The problem with iPhone Pro is that the phone does not have new pro uses compared with the LED iPhones. 
    - As for iPhone X, meaning iPhone 10, that leads to confusion with having an iPhone 8 being released with an iPhone 10/X.
    edited September 2017 watto_cobra
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