So let’s discuss smartphone names. The upcoming iPhone 14 sequence is anticipated to drop the “mini” and introduce a “Max” mannequin, along with the bottom iPhone 14, iPhone 14 “Professional” and “Professional Max”. Confused already? You are not alone.
These names do have a that means, as you’d anticipate, a minimum of in terms of Apple merchandise. However, the Cupertino firm’s naming schemes have spawned a whole lot of meaningless “Professional” merchandise from different manufacturers. Identical goes for Samsung, and its now-retired “Notice” line…
The “mini” title made good sense – clear and easy
iPhone 13 mini
There’s not a extra apparent, easy and easy-to-understand title than the “mini” – whether or not you are an iPhone mini, iPad mini, HomePod mini – you possibly can instantly inform that these are presupposed to be the smallest units of their respective classes.If you’d like one thing small and moveable from Apple – you get the “mini”. Makes good sense.
Different manufacturers have used the “mini” title prior to now too, though these days small telephones generally have gone the way in which of the dodo. Samsung had a “mini” cellphone means earlier than Apple – the Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 was launched in early 2011, whereas the primary iPhone to hold the “mini” title (the iPhone 12 mini) got here out simply two years in the past. And Apple’s mini line is already retired!
Sure, we won’t speak concerning the iPhone mini with out mentioning that the upcoming iPhone 14 sequence will not have such a cellphone. Even Apple is giving up on small flagships, because it appears. So the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 13 mini are the one two mini Apple telephones to get, if you need that small type issue.
And from my private expertise – this is a tip – get the iPhone 13 mini, not the 12, as the previous has higher battery life.
The “Max” title is sensible too
iPhone 13 Professional Max
What’s the upcoming iPhone 14 Max? It’ll be Apple’s first mannequin to hold that title, more likely to be unveiled with the opposite iPhone 14 fashions about two weeks from now.
Till now, we have solely ever had “Professional Max” iPhones, not simply “Max”. And the “Professional Max” made good sense.
Like “mini”, the “Max” title merely describes the cellphone’s measurement – on this case – it is the most important iPhone in its sequence. It is a good title, easy.
With the upcoming (speculated) new iPhone 14 Max, although, issues will certainly get extra difficult. As a result of rumors say that the iPhone 14 Max will likely be beneath the “Professional” and “Professional Max” fashions by way of worth. So we’ll have a “Max” that is smaller than a “Professional”? Or only a “Max” with out the “Professional” options?
Jeez, Apple… Why could not we simply persist with the less complicated names?
The “Notice” title made sense, a minimum of for Samsung, however others are enjoying quick and free with it
Galaxy Notice 20
I’ve at all times been a giant fan of Samsung’s Galaxy Notice telephones, as I am certain a lot of you might be. The Notice was a beloved, flagship, huge cellphone sequence that Samsung just lately retired, in an effort to optimize its flagship choices a bit. Specifically by dropping the trouble of promoting each Notes and S-models, and simply combining them. Now the Galaxy S22 Extremely is mainly a Notice.
The Notes most notably got here with an S Pen stylus, so their title was greater than justified, and completely apt. You need to jot down notes in your cellphone – you get a Galaxy Notice. The stylus expertise was prime tier.
Now, the Notice’s non secular successor – the Galaxy S22 Extremely would not have a reputation that displays its stylus-centered design and options as a lot as “Notice” did, and Samsung ought to’ve most likely simply known as it S22 Notice, however hey, a minimum of the thought of a flagship stylus cellphone lives on.
Nevertheless, different manufacturers have adopted the “Notice” title too, they usually form of simply use it for simple model recognition. Using off of Samsung’s now-retired, however vastly recognizable “Notice” sequence, but with out really delivering a stylus expertise.
For instance, I just lately purchased the Xiaomi Redmi Notice 11 Professional Plus 5G. As you possibly can instantly see from the ridiculously contrived title – Xiaomi is attempting to hit all of the buzzwords it may well, to draw your consideration.
“5G” – as a result of it has 5G, “Plus” – as a result of it is giant, “Professional” – as a result of… it sounds cool, I assume, and “Notice” – as a result of… Go determine.
It is not a cellphone that comes with a stylus like Samsung’s Notice sequence, nor does it have any particular note-taking options price mentioning. It is only a meaningless title. Not cool, Xiaomi.
However let’s lastly get to the “Professional” title, which I would say is the most important, most typical offender.
In lots of instances the “Professional” title means virtually nothing, so do not let manufacturers trick you
iPhone 13 Professional
Many manufacturers use the “Professional” title to suggest a barely better-specced smartphone. It positively does not imply that your new “Professional” cellphone is prepared for skilled use. It simply would possibly sport a greater digital camera, processor, or extra RAM and storage. In some instances, not even that a lot.
In Apple’s case, nevertheless, the “Professional” really does technically imply one thing price taking note of. For, instance the iPhone 13 Professional has the next options over the bottom iPhone 13: A 120Hz show, a telephoto digital camera with 6x optical zoom (versus 2x), a LiDAR scanner, which helps with taking higher Evening mode portraits, and supposedly delivers quicker autofocus in low mild, a 5-core GPU (versus 4-core), barely higher battery life…
To date, only a spec bump, as with most “Professional” telephones on the market. However – this is the kicker – the iPhone 13 Professional can document within the ProRes video format, which the bottom iPhone 13 can’t do. So this one factor is arguably essentially the most notable “Professional”-ish function to justify the title. ProRes isn’t any joke, many big-budget Hollywood films are shot on this format.
However the remainder of this specs gobbledygook – let’s be trustworthy, most individuals will not look after it. So for them it is only a barely extra highly effective cellphone with a cooler title.
And once more, most different manufacturers that use the “Professional” title merely spec up their telephones a bit over the bottom mannequin to justify it. You will be getting nothing on an precise skilled stage.
Apple’s historical past of iPhone names and what they meant
iPhone 3G
As a bonus, let’s dive into Apple’s means of naming iPhones by way of the years, and what these names meant. We’ll skip the bottom fashions and bounce proper to telephones with names that signify a particular function.
The iPhone 3G, which is technically the 2nd iPhone ever, got here out in 2008 and used the 3G title for apparent causes – to suggest its 3G connectivity. Are you able to consider how outdated 3G is? We’re as much as 5G, and 6G is perhaps simply across the nook.
Anyway, the iPhone 3G was adopted by the iPhone 3GS a yr later, and based on Apple, the “S” stood for “Pace”. Cheeky.
The iPhone 4S had a significant title too; the “S” this time stood for “Siri”. As you possibly can guess, that is the primary iPhone that got here with Apple’s digital assistant on board. Again then, in 2013, that was fairly a giant deal – an “clever” digital individual inside your cellphone? Certainly.
The iPhone 5C was subsequent to have a letter in its title, for folks to surprise about. However as soon as once more, the letter stood for one thing easy and clear – “coloration”. This cellphone got here out in a number of vibrant, enjoyable colours, not like its predecessors. So if you happen to had been younger and hip, and wished your cellphone to mirror your enjoyable character – the “C” iPhone was a worthy choose.
Alongside the iPhone 5C, Apple launched the iPhone 5S, and this time, the “S” supposedly stood for “Safety”, though Apple did not formally affirm that idea. In any case, this was the primary iPhone to introduce the TouchID fingerprint scanner, so it is sensible.
iPhone 6 Plus
Subsequent can be the iPhone 6 Plus. Lastly, no extra unclear single letters, however a reputation that just about defined itself. The iPhone 6 Plus was the iPhone 6’s larger brother.
Skipping forward, we now have the iPhone SE from early 2016. The “SE” stood for “Particular Version”, because it reused the iPhone 5S’ physique, however had higher specs, it was reasonably priced, and mainly a precursor to the “mini” line, because it was compact too. In reality, its compact measurement was certainly one of Apple’s largest promoting factors for the SE, as on the time telephones generally, together with iPhones, had been getting larger.
A bunch extra telephones later and we bought again to complicated naming schemes – in 2018 Apple launched an iPhone XR, XS and XS Max. Now, the “X” stands for “10”, which is needlessly complicated, however appears cool, I assume. And what the “R” stands for, Apple by no means made clear. But it surely was the most cost effective cellphone, so absolutely the “R” was meant to mirror that by some means. The “S” was mainly the bottom mannequin within the XS sequence, whereas the XS Max – clearly the most important one. Yup, issues had been fairly complicated. Fortunately, in a while Apple simplified its naming scheme to the one we all know and love as we speak…
The iPhone 11 Professional was the primary to have “Professional” within the title, so late 2019 is when Apple started actively concentrating on the professionals. Attempting to catch their eye with guarantees of pro-grade digital camera high quality; ok for capturing skilled movies!
And it was. Professional films like Excessive Flying Chicken, starring huge names like Zazie Beetz, had been shot on iPhone 8, so by the point the iPhone 11 Professional rolled round, Apple was justified to market sure iPhones as “Professional” units. Many extra films have been filmed with newer iPhone generations since then. And certainly, we might argue that the iPhone’s video high quality stays above any competitors to at the present time.
The iPhone 12 mini got here out in 2020 and was the primary “mini” iPhone, adopting the title of the beloved iPad mini line. And since then, issues have not modified a lot.
However with the iPhone 14 sequence, as we talked about earlier – they could. For higher or worse (extra complicated)? We will see.
What’s your cellphone’s title? Is it a base mannequin, a mini, a Professional, a Professional Max, a Notice, Fold, Flip?
Tell us what your cellphone’s title is, and why you selected that exact variant! Whether or not you might have a mini, a Professional, a Professional Max, a Notice, or one thing else – what attracted you to it?
I am going to begin first – I’ve an iPhone 12 mini I am presently promoting, and I selected it precisely due to its “mini” issue. I had by no means used small flagship telephones, so it was a enjoyable expertise to offer {that a} attempt. I additionally presently use the Xiaomi Redmi Notice 11 Professional Plus, which I discussed earlier, though once more – its title does not imply a lot, and it isn’t what attracted me to it. Properly, possibly the “Plus” half did – I wished a giant cellphone this time, and it’s.