Tomorrow morning, Apple will finally unveil a new suite of iPhones, which will reportedly include an ultra-premium model dubbed the ‘iPhone X’. Most people have been pronouncing it as a letter (i.e. – “Ex”).
Apparently, this could be incorrect. There’s strong reason to believe that Apple is actually using the roman numeral and we’re all supposed to call it “iPhone Ten” instead. Here’s the evidence.
As Business Insider notes, the iPhone X marks the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone, which launched back in 2007. In this context, the number makes more sense than the letter.
In addition, Apple has a history of using the letter ‘X’ to denote ’10’ with its products. On Mac, the “X” in OS X was officially pronounced “ten” by Apple. As explained over on Wikipedia:
The letter “X” in Mac OS X’s name refers to the number 10, a Roman numeral. It is therefore correctly pronounced “ten” in this context.
This is how ex-Apple CEO Steve Jobs pronounced the software’s name when it launched back in 2000. Apple voice software installed on the Mac still pronounces OS X as OS 10. So there’s clearly a precedent for using X as a fill in for 10.
Samsung has also proved that it’s fine to skip over numerals in the smartphone manufacturing cycle without alienating consumers – the Note7 came out after the Note 5 and people (initially) lapped it up.
Finally, using the letter X to evoke mystery and/or excitement is kind of played out at this stage. We seriously doubt Apple’s marketing team would draw from the same well that Microsoft, Motorola and countless other brands have been using for decades. Ten sounds much cleaner.
Of course, just because Apple wants us to call its product something doesn’t mean it will pan out that way. Despite the official moniker, most Mac users still said “OS ex”. We’re willing to bet that the iPhone X will be similarly rechristened by the public.
Which pronunciation do you think works best? iPhone Ex or iPhone Ten? Tell us in the comments!
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/09/what-you-should-know-about-apples-upcoming-iphone-8/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/ohqpdhg1yekwlg2vmzus.jpg” title=”Everything We Know About Apple’s Next iPhone [Updated]” excerpt=”Apple is set to announce the next iPhone on September 12, and while that gives you just enough time to ditch your old device and scrounge up some cash to pay for the new one, Apple’s been pretty secretive (duh) about what the new iPhone will actually do. Luckily, leaks from third-party accessory manufacturers and hints inside Apple’s own iOS 11 operating system give us a pretty good idea of what to expect.”]
[Via Business Insider]
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