Why Apple still hasn't solved its 'i' problem
Apple might have introduced amazing new technologies and design when it unveiled the Apple Watch in September. But it made another astounding announcement, too: Its name.
In the run up to the event, social media had been abuzz about the iWatch, with little question about what exactly it would be called. About halfway through the event, it became clear that Apple was
referring to it as a watch, with the small half-eaten Apple symbol just in front of the word. Then, when those on stage started calling it an Apple Watch, the name caught on.In the run up to the event, social media had been abuzz about the iWatch, with little question about what exactly it would be called. About halfway through the event, it became clear that Apple was
Except it didn't entirely. The watch continues to be referred to as iWatch, even months after it was unveiled. People are still searching on Google for the iWatch, despite Apple never announcing such a product.
It's better on Twitter: Tweets about the Apple Watch vastly outnumber those about the iWatch. But there's still a stubborn group tweeting about the iWatch — 3,200 of them in the last week, according to analytics tool Topsy.
Even Tim Cook wasn't entirely used to the name at launch, being caught on camera referring to the iWatch just ahead of the event in September.
The name everyone expected was iWatch. While it's unclear why exactly Apple dropped the i prefix, there are plenty of good reasons for them to do so.
'i' isn't cool any more
The iMac was the first big 'i' product, and when it was announced the letter seemed to stand for everything that was exciting about computing. The consultant who came up with the name says that the letter stood for internet mostly, but also "individuality" and "innovation". It was a slightly strange but ultimately cool name — and Apple borrowed that cachet when it attached the letter to the iPod, iPhone and iPad as well as lesser known products like the iBook and iLife.
Tim Cook unveiling the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 tablets and the iMac with 5K Retina display But by the time the Apple Watch arrived, 16 years after the iMac was first announced, the name seemed tired. Everyone had used it — from BBC's iPlayer to Nickelodeon's sitcom iCarly. It had gone from being the future to the slightly worn out past, and it helped it avoid picking up any of that.
The rest of the products announced since Tim Cook took the reigns avoid the 'i' prefix too, such as Apple Pay. Though plenty of media reports referred to the iCar, if it ever arrives it probably won't be called anything like that.
Apple has been heavily targeting fashion, not tech, people in all of its marketing. The first major advertising campaign was in the pages of Vogue, and it has made sure that the watch has been spotted on the wrists of fashion journalists and designers.
Vogue China November 2014 issue featuring model Liu Wen wearing the Apple Watch 'i' products sound like tech products. Apple products have much of the trappings of fashion. So Apple might have dropped the name to mark its move towards a fashion audience.
And dropping the 'i' also allows the "watch" part of the name to come more to the fore. If people are really going to engage with the Apple Watch, it's likely that they'll have to come to think of it as part of them - a new kind of watch, not a new kind of computer.
It doesn't connect to the internet
The 'i' might have meant many things, but it's main purpose was the internet. Every time Apple brought out a new 'i' device, the internet added excitement — the iMac was one of the first personal computers built for the internet age, and the iPhone was the first mobile to have internet built in across all of its features.
The Apple Watch can't connect to the internet. Instead, it connects to the iPhone, borrowing its connection to serve up its notifications and information.