Apple originally intended to name its low-end 6.7-inch device “iPhone 14 Max” but has changed its mind at the last minute so we got iPhone 14 Plus instead.
- What’s happening? Surprise, one of the iPhone 14 Plus images used in Apple’s support document has the file name “iPhone-14-max-colors.jpg”
- Why care? Apple settled on the name for its low-end 6.7-inch phone at the last minute. Maybe the iPhone brand needs a new naming scheme because even Apple seems unsure how to name different models in the lineup?
- What to do? If you still haven’t decided which new iPhone to buy, you may want to check out the differences between the Pro and non-Pro iPhone 14 or compare the iPhone 14 Pro models to their iPhone 13 Pro counterparts.
iPhone 14 Plus should’ve been called iPhone 14 Max
The Dutch blog iCreate.nl points us to a support document on Apple’s website which provides 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 the image and choose “Save Image As,” you’ll see that the image name displayed in the Save As dialog is actually “iPhone-14-max-colors.jpg.”
This suggests that Apple may have planned all along to call its low-end 6.7-inch device “iPhone 14 Max” instead of “iPhone 14 Plus.” Apple may have painted itself into a corner with the iPhone naming scheme.
The iPhone naming scheme is all over the place
It all began with the iPhone 3GS when people began speculating as to what the “S” in the iPhone 3GS name might allude to.
We then got S-branded phones every other year (iPhone 4s, iPhone 5s and iPhone 6s). But then in 2017, Apple released iPhone 8 which broke this convention even though people were expecting “iPhone 7s” instead. Subsequent models with the “Max” and “Plus” suffixes weren’t helpful in that regard.
Do you honestly believe that average consumers know what those suffixes mean?
I think people barely understand the difference between Pro and non-Pro phones. Apple’s iPhone naming scheme has been in a state of chaos for some time now.
And so, the question remains: Does Apple have the courage to put an end to this mess and come up with more memorable names for the different iPhone models?
Is it worth upgrading to the iPhone 14 family?
With iPhone designs changing every three years, a process that began with the iPhone 6 back in 2012, you won’t benefit much by upgrading as the iPhone 14 family has retained the general design of the previous two iPhone generations. Read: How to get vibration feedback when typing on iPhone keyboard like on Android
Aside from the all-new 48-megapixel read shooter and the Dynamic Island on the front, the iPhone 14 doesn’t offer enough improvements to justify upgrading from the previous generation. But if you still rock an iPhone 12, upgrading to the latest devices might make sense. Read: iPhone 14 Pro settings to change for an optimal experience