The man who invented the i prefix for Apple products claims that the iPhone should be rebranded because the convention has become obsolete.
That would result in the iPhone, iPad, and iMac changing names; Apple unintentionally started this shift back in 2007…
The individual behind the i branding is Ken Segall.
Steve Jobs selected Ken Segall, the creative director of an advertising agency, to work on NeXT initially and then Apple later on. He served in that capacity for twelve years.
Among Segall’s numerous accolades from Apple are his roles as creative director of the Think Different campaign and the renowned Crazy Ones commercial. Perhaps his most significant contribution, though, was developing the i prefix for Apple goods.
That all started in 1998 when Apple was developing a completely new, user-friendly home computer with a translucent Jony Ives design. Apple called the device the MacMan internally. In order to highlight the device’s then-new Internet access, Segall pleaded with Apple to use an i prefix. Naturally, the gadget debuted as the iMac.
With the advent of the iBook, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, the i prefix became ubiquitous.
Apple’s gradual change in branding
With the introduction of the Apple TV in 2007, Apple started to move away from the i prefix. It was widely anticipated that this will be known as the iTV.
But that was probably an unintentional maneuver. It would have been nearly difficult to adopt the branding because ITV was already the name of a TV network in the UK. Of course, when the iPad debuted in 2010, three years later, Apple returned to the i branding.
The release of the Apple Watch was possibly the first conscious decision to drop the i prefix. The iWatch was also anticipated to be called such, and since Apple CEO Tim Cook mistakenly referred to it as such in 2014, we can assume that this was the company’s long-term goal.
Segall suggests rebranding the iPhone.
According to Wired, Segall now believes that Apple should do away with the remaining i logo.
Segall desires to murder his infant branding. He believes Apple shouldn’t continue using the prefix.
“The ‘i’ has to go,” he declares. It has no meaning anymore. Indeed, Jobs constructed Apple around it, but keep in mind that the “i” has always been a sub-brand. Marketing gurus may argue that Apple would be stupid to remove the prefix—it still precedes some of the best brands ever—but it cannot be protected, and since companies with “i” internet-connected products have existed for too long, Apple, which is famed for its creativity, has challenges.
Although he doesn’t state it clearly, it is implied that the iPhone ought to be rebranded as the Apple Phone. It would then be comparable to the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and (technically) the Apple Vision Pro, but no one outside of Apple Park and Apple Stores ever refers to it as such.
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By that reasoning, we should also do away with the entire Macintosh/Mac nomenclature, which was coined 50 years ago by an engineer as a codename based on a range of Apple products. Aside from the fact that it is merely iconic, it has no relevance in the modern world.
The iPhone is not going away.
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Generally speaking, I’m against dumping a perfectly fine brand name (you know who I mean, WordPress, and the software with the ridiculous moniker Jetpack). But Apple has the marketing power to pull it off, so I could definitely see the iPhone or Apple Phone serving as a good substitute.
The rebranding of the iPad and iMac is less evident. There are several Apple Macs, and the Apple Pad just seems wrong.
What opinions do you have? Do you concur with Segall that the i should be dropped? Kindly leave your comments with your opinions.