Apple originally intended to call its budget 6.7-inch device “iPhone 14 Max”, but changed its mind at the last minute, and instead we got the iPhone 14 Plus.
- What is happening? Surprisingly, one of the iPhone 14 Plus images used in Apple’s support document has a filename of “iPhone-14-max-colors.jpg”.
- Why care? Apple chose a name for its budget 6.7-inch phone at the last minute. Maybe the iPhone brand needs a new naming scheme because even Apple doesn’t know how to name the different models in the lineup?
- What to do? If you’re still not sure which new iPhone to buy, you can check out the differences between the pro and non-professional iPhone 14 or compare the iPhone 14 Pro models with their iPhone 13 Pro counterparts.
iPhone 14 Plus was supposed to be called iPhone 14 Max
The Dutch blog iCreate.nl points us to a support document on Apple’s website that contains instructions to help users identify their iPhone model.
Visit this page on your computer and scroll down to the iPhone 14 Plus section, then right-click on the image and choose Save Image As. You will see that the image name displayed in the Save As dialog box is actually “iPhone-14″. -max-colors.jpg”.
This suggests that Apple may have planned to call its budget 6.7-inch device “iPhone 14 Max”instead of “iPhone 14 Plus”from the beginning. Apple may have painted itself into a corner with the iPhone naming scheme.
iPhone Naming Scheme Everywhere
It all started with the iPhone 3GS, when people started speculating about what the “S”in the iPhone 3GS might be referring to.
We then received S-brand phones every two years (iPhone 4s, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 6s). But then, in 2017, Apple released the iPhone 8, which broke that convention when people were expecting “iPhone 7s”instead. Subsequent models with “Max”and “Plus”suffixes did not help in this regard.
Do you sincerely believe that ordinary consumers know what these suffixes mean?
I think people barely understand the difference between professional and non-professional phones. Apple’s iPhone naming scheme has been in a state of chaos for some time now.
So, the question remains: will Apple have the courage to put an end to this mess and come up with more memorable names for different iPhone models?
Should I upgrade to the iPhone 14 family?
Because iPhone design changes every three years, a process that began with the iPhone 6 back in 2012, you won’t get much benefit from the upgrade since the iPhone 14 family has retained the common design of the previous two iPhone generations. Read: How to get vibration feedback when typing on the iPhone keyboard, like on Android
Aside from an all-new 48MP reading camera and Dynamic Island on the front, the iPhone 14 doesn’t offer enough improvements to justify a switch from the previous generation. But if you’re still on the iPhone 12, it might make sense to upgrade to the latest devices.