All the rumours surrounding the next-generation iPhone have pointed so far to it being called the iPhone 5. Or at least it seemed so, until the new iPad was unveiled this week, under the name of…the new iPad.
To you and me, the latest Apple tablet device is the iPad 3. But Apple introduced it as the “new iPad”.
And now the guys over at 9To5Mac have stated that “about two weeks ago we got a tip from a reliable source that Apple was going to call the iPhone 5 (or whatever) – the new ‘iPhone’”. As they admit, at the time this appeared “a little nuts” but now it seems Apple intends to rebrand its iOS devices by dropping the numbers.
So the new Apple iPhone could break with the naming tradition of earlier models and the current iPhone 4S, and go by the simple name of iPhone.
As always, with speculation, time will tell – and alongside the name, anticipated specs include a “glass-to-glass” display and a bigger than 4-inch screen. It seems likely Apple will ditch the hardware key that has adorned the iPhones to-date. The last we heard, the next-generation iPhone is likely to take a bow during Apple’s WWDC event in June, launching a few weeks later.
The iPad 3 – or rather, the new iPad – is set to arrive in the UK in a week’s time and will boast an improved Retina display that has a sharper, more intense pixels resolution than even HD TVs. The latest iPad is also more powerful and has impressive software onboard for imaging and entertainment.
What do you think of Apple’s decision to drop the numbers for its iPad and (presumably) iPhone? Do you think it will cause confusion with earlier models still being available? Or do you like the simplicity of the new number-less naming system?