Apple's New iPhone Will Have A Different Name, And It's Not What You Expected

We're inching ever closer to the iPhone 8, and if you can't wait to get your hands on it, well, we have some news for you. You might have even more options than the much-anticipated next generation phone, thanks to rumors of the super-high-tech, unnamed iPhone "Edition." But if you're wondering what will the next iPhone be called, the answer's already here. The unnamed next phone will actually be called the iPhone X, according to leaked info.

9To5Mac leaked details about the upcoming phone launch and features, and the most curious factoid is that Apple's super-secret iPhone "Edition" might be moving away from the company's traditional way of numbering its releases. Though the company is still expected to unveil updates to the iPhone 7, called iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, there's also a rumored third iPhone to be revealed at the upcoming keynote event. And for this one, Apple might be jumping ahead (and ditching Arabic numerals altogether) in favor of calling their next release the iPhone X. Whether that X stands for the Roman numeral 10, for ~mystery~, or for Planet X, who knows?

Increasing the mystery? How the name will be pronounced. Business Insider points out that Apple has previously pronounced the letter “X” in their products as if it was the Roman numeral for 10, most notably in their series of operating systems OS X, which is pronounced “oh ess ten,” not “oh ess ecks.”

In the below video, you can see Steve Jobs announcing OS X back in 2000, pronouncing it "oh ess ten." (He says the name a few times right at the start of the video.) So there's definitely precedent for thinking that the company is just skipping ahead.

The other thing that lends credibility to the notion that the phone will be called the iPhone 10? 2017 is the ten-year anniversary of the launch of the original iPhone. Which, speaking as someone who still has her own original, no-number iPhone in her desk drawer because I'm convinced that one day I will bust my current phone beyond repair and need to temporarily replace it, is a little mind-boggling. (Also, would it even work at this point? Get at me, Genius Bar. Uh, before I drop my phone again, please.)

Points against it being called iPhone 10? The fact that a bunch of people are inevitably going to pronounce it as "ecks," no matter what Apple says. The letter "X" is everywhere when it comes to tech and sci-fi things, from Xbox to X-Files. It'll be the whole "gif" versus "jif" thing all over again. Don't do that to us, Apple.

Whatever it will be called, we have some clues about what will be in it.

The iPhone X is expected to have an OLED screen, as well as some new camera features, including "portrait lighting" to make your selfies really pop. It's also expected to make some adjustments to the AirPods, per 9To5Mac. And when it comes to the 8, we have some ideas of what it might look like, thanks to photo leaks and prototypes.

There were also plenty of rumors about the phone colors available, including suggestions that Apple might get rid of fan favorite rose gold in favor of "copper blush gold." (Twitter was not happy about this particular rumor.)

 You don't have long to wait to find out the truth behind all the speculation. Apple is expected to announce the new phone or phones at their keynote event on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Considering that the iPhone X is expected to run a hefty $1,000 retail, I'm sure hoping that they're all released together — the iPhone 8 is expected to cost "only" around $650-$970. (Still a chunk of change if you ask me.)

But worth it? Ask me again when my phone dies and that beautiful copper blush gold is staring me down out of the Apple store window.