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Become a Six Colors member to read exclusive posts, get our weekly podcast, join our community, and more!By Jason Snell for Tom's Guide
The iPhone 11 name game
We have entered peak iPhone rumor season. Between now and Apple’s presumed announcement on Sept. 10, we’ll get details about the new iPhones that will surely make Apple executives grit their teeth. The leaks will come from Apple’s supply chain in Asia, from people in Cupertino and even from details inadvertently left in Apple’s own beta software.
But usually, there are two pieces of the puzzle that don’t leak: what the new iPhones will be named, and how they will be priced. That’s causing some of the most interesting speculation in this silly season surrounding the upcoming iPhone 11 — and for good reason. More than any other tech company, Apple is a master at building a story around its products, which is why its media events are the subject of so much focus.
This year, Apple’s got a bunch of marketing challenges ahead. This is the third year of the iPhone X hardware family, and the second year for the iPhone XR, so changes to the external design of Apple’s phones — often the biggest driver of a huge sales bump — are unlikely. The presence of the iPhone XR adds another wrinkle as Apple continues to try to differentiate it from the company’s more expensive models. And then there’s the iPhone X name itself, which seems unlikely to be continued through another generation. iPhone XRM? iPhone XST? Yuck.