The “iPhone 13” name will stay because Apple is not superstitious

The “iPhone 13” name will stay, apparently. Rather than skip straight to “iPhone 14,” Apple reportedly has the courage to use the number 13 for the upcoming 2021 iPhone launch.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • One in five people wouldn’t buy a phone called an “iPhone 13”
  • Luckily, an iPhone 12 followup may not be called “iPhone 12”
  • Apparently, the 2021 iPhones will use the “iPhone 13” moniker

A still from Apple ad showing a guy holding an iPhone 12 mini in his hand

iPhone 13 and triskaidekaphobia

Even though this is an S-year for the Apple smartphone, the upcoming 2021 iPhone models won’t be branded “iPhone 12s,” according to a new supply-chain report by the Economic Daily News. In other words, superstition definitely won’t be keeping an “iPhone 13” from happening.

In Apple’s world, every other year is an S-upgrade for iPhone which usually entails focusing on internal improvements whilst keeping the design the same as before or tweaking it ever slightly. This has been going for years since iPhone 3G and up until iPhone 7, which was succeeded by iPhone 8 rather than iPhone 7 (iPhone X, on the other hand, was followed by iPhone XS).

This to do when setting up a new iPhone

Apple also jumped from “iPhone 11” to “iPhone 12” without releasing an “iPhone 12s”. And if today’s rumor is to be believed, the same will happen this year with a jump from “iPhone 12” straight to “iPhone 13,” whether you’re superstitious or not.

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Superstitious types want Apple to skip “iPhone 13”

Jon Prosser, an Apple leaker and prognosticator with a mixed track record, recently heard from his sources that the 2021 iPhone lineup “was probably not going to be called the iPhone 12s.”

According to a survey conducted by the trade-in site SellCell, nearly one in five respondents (18.3 percent) would skip the next iPhone if named “iPhone 13” due to superstition, with almost three-quarters of polled (74 percent) rooting for a moniker that omits the unlucky number 13.

And here are some of the suggested names for the 2021 iPhone that respondents picked:

  • iPhone (2021): 38 percent
  • iPhone 21: 16 percent
  • iPhone 12S: 13 percent
  • iPhone 14: 7 percent

Are you among those who would refuse to buy an iPhone if it bore the unluckiest number?

If so, you may want to see your doctor because you probably suffer from a condition known as triskaidekaphobia, which refers to the irrational fear or avoidance of the number 13.