Name: The Death of Apple's 'i'
Uploaded: 2020-02-25T17:10:18.000Z
Duration: 11 min 26 s
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Apple has had a long history considering the company was founded in 1976.

And over that period, we've seen changes in their product designs, but most people

haven't noticed the subtle change in how Apple names their products.

If you were an Apple fan in the early 2000's, you might've used an iMac, iBook, or iPod.

But Apple fans today might be using an Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Apple pencil.

And although there are still products from what I call the 'i' era, like the iPhone

and iPad, it's worth exploring how Apple's product name strategy has changed over the

last two decades, and learn why those changes was made.

This is Greg with Apple Explained, and I want to thank Ting for sponsoring this video.

If you want to help decide which topics I cover, make sure you're subscribed and voting

polls like this one will show up in your mobile activity feed.

Now before we talk about Apple's naming strategy today, I want to take a look back

and explain how it evolved over the company's history.

Apple's first computer ever, created by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs themselves back

Its successor, released a year later, was called the Apple II.

It proved to be one of the most influential computers of that period and provided Apple

a steady stream of revenue for the next decade.

And they would need it, since the company tried creating a followup computer in 1980

called the Apple III, which was primarily targeted to the business market.

But it failed miserably, selling only 70,000 units in its lifetime, 20% of which were defective.

At that point, Apple shifted their focus to other projects like the Macintosh.

Now the Macintosh project had been in the works since 1979 and was initially led by

Jef Raskin, the person responsible for naming the product.

And the reason why Raskin chose the name Macintosh, is because that was his favorite type of Apple.

Now if you're familiar with apples, you might be wondering why Jef Raskin spelt the

word Macintosh wrong, since the McIntosh fruit is spelt without an 'a.'

Well, it turned out that the team decided to add the 'a' in order to avoid trademark

disputes with an audio company called McIntosh Laboratory.

But unfortunately that slight spelling difference didn't save Apple from trademark infringement.

Steve Jobs was so desperate to keep the name that he actually wrote a letter to McIntosh

Laboratory, asking for permission to use the word Macintosh for their computer since the

team had become very attached to the name.

But the president of McIntosh Labs denied Jobs request.

Eventually in 1983 Apple was able to license the name, and then in 1986 they purchased

the trademark outright for a reported $100,000.

Which is equal to almost a quarter million dollars today.

So that explains why Apple's revolutionary 1984 computer was called the Macintosh instead

And that marked a very significant point in the company's history, since most their

following machines would continue using the Mac name.

Now there were exceptions beginning in the early 90's, when Apple named their first

But in the late 90's, with Steve Jobs return, the company continued to leave the Mac name

out of their notebook computers with the introduction of the iBook.

But it's very important to understand why this decision was made.

Because looking back today, it seems strange that Jobs would name a notebook computer iBook

instead of MacBook, especially when he was part of the original Macintosh team who fought

But you have to consider the iBook in the context of Apple's product line at the time.

Because one year before it was released, Apple had introduced the iMac.

Which, at the time, became the company's most successful product in history and helped

And considering the iMac was the first product to use the 'i' prefix, it'd make sense

that Apple would capitalize on the name's popularity by using the lowercase 'i'

in other products like the iBook, which was marketed as an iMac to go.

Adopting its translucence, colors, and bulbous design.

It also had a built-in handle like the iMac.

Now if you're wondering why Apple chose the name iMac in the first place, it's because

the 'i' was supposed to stand for internet, which the iMac was primarily built for.

But there were additional meanings ascribed to the letter, like individual, instruct,

It's also worth pointing out that the name was created by Ken Segall with the ad agency

And initially, Steve Jobs didn't like it.

Instead suggesting the name MacMan which he found particularly appealing.

But no one else did, with Segall saying the name made his blood curdle.

So the following week Jobs was presented with more names to choose from, but he rejected

From then on, the ad agency didn't hear anything directly from Apple, but they did

have friends that told them Jobs was testing the name iMac on prototypes of the computer.

Trying to decide whether or not it looked good.

And apparently it did, because the final product was named iMac, which came to a surprise to

He said, “[Jobs] rejected it twice but then it just appeared on the machine.

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So with the iMac and iBook enjoying more success than Apple could've ever wished for, and

with the company roaring back to profitability, the 'i' prefix became a very valuable

That's why it was used for the vast majority of new Apple products during that era.

Their music player released in 2001 was called the iPod, their smartphone released in 2007

was called the iPhone, and their tablet released in 2010 was called the iPad.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

The Death of Apple's 'i'

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strategy

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