Apple’s iPhone 16 Plus may be the last plus-sized regular iPhone
If analysts’ predictions turn out to be correct, the iPhone 16 Plus could be the last plus-sized regular iPhone offered by Apple.
Apple is reportedly planning to cut the larger-screened flavor of its standard iPhone from its lineup next year and will instead introduce a new ultra-thin premium iPhone said to be called the iPhone 17 Slim. That’s according to reports from two analysts known for their Apple predictions: TF International Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo and Haitong International Securities’ Jeff Pu.
If true, that would leave the iPhone Plus in the same boat as the iPhone Mini, which Apple introduced in 2020 with the iPhone 12 family and axed after the iPhone 13 Mini’s release in 2021.
According to Kuo, who has a solid track record of reporting on upcoming Apple products, the iPhone Plus accounts for only 5% to 10% of new iPhone shipments.
“It implies that the other three iPhone models (standard, Pro and Pro Max) already adequately cover the high-end market segments, making the Plus model redundant,” Kuo wrote in a report published to Medium in July.
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MacDailyNews Take: There should be a standard iPhone, two premium “Pro” models offering two display size choices, and an ultra-premium “Ultra” model in which Apple experiments with design and loads up with cutting-edge tech.
The product line, which since the “iPhone 3G” has been poorly monikered in inexplicably awful fashion, should be named and marketing thusly:
• iPhone (year)
• iPhone Pro (year)
• iPhone Pro Max (year)
• iPhone Ultra (year)
K.I.S.S. – simpler is better.
As regular readers know, we’ve written a book’s worth on iPhone naming, mostly before Apple finally woke up and nixed the “S” and “R” letter naming stupidity. Some examples:
“S” year iPhones were not “slight upgrades,” but that horrid mischaracterization is exactly why we advised Apple to drop the the stupid “S of Death” naming scheme many years ago. – MacDailyNews, September 13, 2017
Apple, enough with the stupid iPhone “S” naming already.
iPhone “S” years usher in hugely significant features, such as oleophobic displays, significant GPU improvements, world phone capability, Siri personal assistant, video stabilization, panorama photos, 64-bit processors, TD-LTE support, Touch ID, and 3D Touch, among other improvements and additions. Each year’s iPhone deserves its own number. By not doing so, Apple is shooting itself in the foot; handicapping iPhones with an “S” every other year. Why Tim Cook or Phil Schiller haven’t put an end to this stupid – yes, stupid – “S” naming is inexplicable. Why don’t you just name it “iPhone No Big Deal This Year,” Tim and Phil?
Here’s what you say onstage and in the press release when there’s no “iPhone 7s” and you jump directly from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8: “The improvements are such that the new iPhone deserves its own number.” Period. Done. Mission accomplished. It’s your naming convention, Apple, and you can correct your stupid mistake at any time. — MacDailyNews, September 16, 2015
It’s as if Apple is naming iPhone models solely for their own internal inventory purposes, just so they can keep track of which model is which, with no regard for how the iPhones are perceived by the rest of the world – the media, the customers, etc. – outside One Infinite Loop.
The “S” doesn’t stand for “Speed,” it stands for “Stupid.” Yes, we know it’s the same case design; we know the “S” version is the one you make the big margins on; we get it. Call it the “S” internally if you must, but don’t be so engineer-ish that you insist on calling it that on the box, too!
It’s not about sales figures or the model’s success (as long as “iPhone” is in the name, it will be a success), it’s about setting a tone. In this case, with the “S,” Apple sets a tone that they are just making an incremental update… Why gift the naysayers with the opportunity, Apple? — MacDailyNews Take, April 5, 2013
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