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Naming conventions: premium iPhone to be called ‘Edition’

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Apple’s big September keynote is just next week, and although we’ve heard a lot about its upcoming iPhones, there’s still something nobody quite knows for sure: the names of this year’s devices.

We (along with most of the media) have been referring to the expected three new devices as the iPhone 7s, the iPhone 7s Plus, and the iPhone 8. Two iterative updates and one premium redesign, respectively.

Those names may not be entirely accurate, though. Sources from two notable case-makers claim to have seen packaging for the new devices, and peg the new range as follows:

iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone Edition.

This would signal the first time in years Apple has skipped an ‘S’ year, moving straight from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone 8. It leaves the high-end design that we thought would be called iPhone 8 with a new, unique name that doesn’t follow any kind of numerical sequence. iPhone Edition.

Apple has a history with these kinds of names. Last year’s throwback 4-inch smartphone is called the iPhone SE, which supposedly stands for Special Edition. And the Apple Watch, of course, has a super-premium tier called Apple Watch Edition. So we wouldn’t be at all surprised for the big reveal of next week’s event to be the iPhone Edition.

The main problem we foresee with this naming convention is that it makes next year’s event even more complicated. What will we see then? iPhone 9? iPhone Edition 2? iPhone Extra Special Edition?

That said, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So let’s hope Apple comes up smelling of roses once we see the official unveiling of the next iPhone, whatever it may be called.