iPhone 7 Pro: Is Apple about to jump the shark in naming its products?

The iPhone 7 will most likely be released in September and lots of folks can’t wait to get their hands on one. But rumors are flying all over the web that there might be different versions of the iPhone 7, and one of them might be called the iPhone Pro.

Todd Haselton reports for TechnoBuffalo:

Apple is reportedly working on several versions of the iPhone 7, including two versions of the iPhone 7 Plus, one of which might have some of the company’s latest camera technology. That’s a rumor that has been floating around for a while now, and a new report suggests it may carry the “iPhone Pro” moniker when it launches.

The rumor comes from MyDrivers and we’re not sure of its accuracy, but it makes sense if Apple is indeed considering launching two of its larger-sized iPhones. After all, it sort of makes sense to have an iPhone 7, an iPhone 7 Plus and then an ultimate catch-all iPhone Pro. The iPhone Pro model will carryApple’s advanced “dual camera” technology, MyDrivers suggested. The site didn’t provide any additional details.

More at TechnoBuffalo

Apple might end up confusing its customers with too many names

I must admit that this rumor took me by surprise, I never thought Apple would splinter its biggest product into “pro” and “non-pro” categories. Perhaps there’s a valid reason for the company to do so, but it just seems very weird to me right now. I can’t think of what Apple has to gain by possibly doing this, and it seems to me that it might confuse customers.

I felt the same way when Apple came out with the iPad Pro. Frankly, I didn’t like the name much when it was first announced and I still don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPad Pro but the name is exclusionary as I noted in a previous post. And it gives the false impression that the iPad Pro is for professionals only. But Apple will apparently be expanding the use of the “pro” moniker when it releases a new update to the smaller 9.7-inch iPad soon.

I can’t imagine the confusion in the minds of some customers when they visit an Apple Store and have to wade through the various pro and non-pro models to figure out which one they should buy. I suspect some Apple Store employees are going to have to spend a lot of time explaining the differences to befuddled customers.

Who will want to buy the non-pro versions of the iPad and iPhone?

None of this makes much sense to me. Are we to believe that people want to pay for an iPhone or iPad that lacks the features of its “pro” siblings? Or will the “pro” label just mean that the pro versions have faster processor, more RAM, etc.?

If the latter is the case then how many people will want to buy the lower end iPads and iPhones? Perhaps some folks on tight budgets might want them but that segment of the market has never been Apple’s target anyway.

The distinction between pro and non-pro might give some folks the idea that the non-pro versions are lesser products, and that they won’t be getting as much value for their money as those who buy the pro products.

Steve Jobs simplified Apple’s product lineup and names

One of the things that Steve Jobs did when he came back to Apple was to clear away a huge clutter of products, and focus the company on simplifying its product line. And part of that included the naming of the products. But it seems like Apple is now poised to go in the opposite direction as it splinters its iPad and iPhone products into pro and non-pro versions.

Maybe there’s a strategy here that I’m not seeing? It’s quite possible and if that’s the case then I wish somebody at Apple would clarify it in a public statement. Otherwise it’s hard for me to think anything except that Apple has begun to drift in terms of positioning its products and that is not a good thing over the long term.

Apple redditors wonder what Apple is thinking with all the different names

I’m not the only one questioning Apple’s choice of product names lately. I found a thread in the Apple subreddit and many of the redditors there wondered why Apple might be cluttering up its product line with so many different names:

c_will: ”Ugh, I don’t know. I’m really not a fan of the constant fracturing of the iPhone product lineup. For years, we just had the iPhone ____. Simple. With iPhone 6, we got two separate models – the 6 and 6 Plus. Still simple.

But this is what we could be looking at within just a few months –

iPhone 7 iPhone 7 Plus iPhone 7 Pro iPhone SE

Not to mention the 6s and 6s Plus units still on the market. This is getting extremely messy, and I would much prefer the Plus to be the definitive premium model without creating yet another iPhone variant.”

CurbedEnthusiasm: ”Steve would never have…well, you know.”

ZedEffective: ”As someone who has no use for an iPad and has never followed news, I get the impression that they currently have around 14 active models. iPad 3, 4, mini, air, air 2, pro? Why? Why do you need to many…models of iPad?”

RedditV4: ”Do you really want to know? Take introductory classes in economics and business. This is basic supply and demand stuff. They’re capturing different market segments at different price points in such a way as to maximize their profit margin in each segment.

They could sell the latest devices at the low-end price point, but they won’t because that would be leaving money on the table.”

SayCheeseGrandpa: ”Apple is totally over complicating things. They just should release:

iPhone 7 mini iPhone 7 iPhone 7 plus”

Ttile: ”I don’t mind it. People want different screen sizes so its reasonable to offer an array of sizes (just like they do for their MacBook and iPad lines). The addition of high-end features to their flagship models makes sense as well because a segment of the population is willing to pay for the best but forcing everyone to pay those prices to own a flagship would be a poor decision.”

Mongotron: ”I love these “mockups” rumour sites use. Somebody spends 30 seconds in Photoshop editing out the back antenna lines and shrinking the camera, and they splash it across their bullshit analyst articles for several months as if it shows any indication of what the next iPhone design will look like. S models are different, but when we’re talking about a new generation and a new design how does using a 99% unchanged stock image of the current generation model reflect in any way what we’re to expect?”

IamA5starman: ”iPhone Pro Plus – for extra pain relief.”

Theexlurker: ”They should just replace the Plus with the Pro, and call the 4″ version the iPhone 7 Mini. Then the naming would be the consistent across the iPad and iPhone and, you know, actually make sense.”

McDuble: ”This seems like the logical solution. I doubt this is what is gonna happen though especially if the new standard size iPad is called iPad pro too.”

More at Reddit

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