We are but days away from the event of the Apple calendar year when the company pulls the curtain up on new iPhone models. And yet the leaks keep coming.
The latest juicy tidbit is what looks to be the official names of the three models Apple is rumored to be announcing next Tuesday — and they suggest Cupertino is skipping its usual ‘S’ generation convention for this release, as well as throwing in a curve ball christening for the most expensive model of the trio.
The top-of-the-range iPhone, which is expected to ditch the home button to make way for more screen real-estate, replacing the fingerprint-powered Touch ID with a facial recognition alternative, has been referred to as ‘D22’ in a leaked iOS 11 firmware build.
But according to a developer who’s being sifting through the firmware the official name will be the iPhone X.
Which is at least not iPhone Ferrari, as was another of its rumored codenames.
While the other two iPhone models are set to be named the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, according to the leak, meaning Apple is eschewing an iterative iPhone 7s/7s Plus release — underlining how the company wants this release to be interpreted; i.e. not at all iterative.
At this point you do have to wonder whether Apple is retiring the iPhone ‘s’ cycle for good — something TC’s Editor in Chief Matthew Panzarino was calling for back in 2015 at the time of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
After all, when you’re asking people to shell out as much as $1,000 or more for their next smartphone — as has been the rumored price-tag for the incoming iPhone X — there’s rather a lot of perceived value resting on a name.
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