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Other Did you ever wonder why Apple changed the largest iPhone name from Plus to Max?

S

subjonas

macrumors 604
Original poster
Feb 10, 2014
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Sorry this is about 3 years late, but it took me this long to realize.
I think they changed the name to Max in 2018 because of the Mini that would be released two years later in 2020... Max(imum) and Mini(mum).
Plus and Mini wouldn’t have fit.
And Plus and Minus would have been a bad look, marketing-wise.

Sounds right, right? Or was this already known? ?
 
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I stopped thinking about what Apple was naming stuff around the time where Apple was selling Quadras and Performas and this's and thats's. Then the whole 'i' nomenclature came in with the iMac.

What you say makes sense, but I just don't think about it anymore. Trying to keep up with what Apple calls all their product is a losing game.
 
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Mark Stone said:
I think "Max" sounds better than "Plus" from a marketing standpoint.
Click to expand...
Max does kind of strike me as marketing. It implies a limit. Of course it may be the maximum size Apple offers, but other phones are bigger (or taller or wider).

So to me it kind of sounds the same way as 'unlimited' does on a cellular provider. It's not truly a Max in the same way that unlimited data on a carrier is not really unlimited (they're going to stop you at some point, somehow).

But that's just how I am perceiving it.
 
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eyoungren said:
Max does kind of strike me as marketing. It implies a limit. Of course it may be the maximum size Apple offers, but other phones are bigger (or taller or wider).

So to me it kind of sounds the same way as 'unlimited' does on a cellular provider. It's not truly a Max in the same way that unlimited data on a carrier is not really unlimited (they're going to stop you at some point, somehow).

But that's just how I am perceiving it.
Click to expand...
Agreed.
 
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eyoungren said:
Max does kind of strike me as marketing. It implies a limit. Of course it may be the maximum size Apple offers, but other phones are bigger (or taller or wider).

So to me it kind of sounds the same way as 'unlimited' does on a cellular provider. It's not truly a Max in the same way that unlimited data on a carrier is not really unlimited (they're going to stop you at some point, somehow).

But that's just how I am perceiving it.
Click to expand...

ian87w said:
I wonder if we will we see an iPhone Ultra.. :D
Click to expand...

? this is what I was thinking. Max use to be the top. Now it’s Ultra. And we haven’t even heard the name of the SoC they will use for the new Mac Pro. So who knows wtf they will name this ?
 
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I don't really like the Max name.
the whole 'iPhone Pro Max" looks weird to me.
the lineup is two groups + sizes? (+ the cheapo)
Cheap:
iPhone SE

low-end group:
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 Mini

high end group:
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max

The Pro Max looks like a detergent to me.
 

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Plus - Has additional features that one would call a “better” version of the regular series. For example, 1080p display, additional camera lens.

Max - Same as the regular series but just bigger. Same resolution, same camera system (except for the 12 Pro series). Just larger and comes with one perk such as better battery life.
 
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marty1980 said:
? this is what I was thinking. Max use to be the top. Now it’s Ultra. And we haven’t even heard the name of the SoC they will use for the new Mac Pro. So who knows wtf they will name this ?
Click to expand...
Ultra would need better thermal cooling. Maybe it could double as a personal A/C unit? :)

In all seriousness, I doubt they will further conflate the nomenclature of the iPhone lineup with the Mac lineup. "Max" in iPhone world refers to display size, whereas "Max" and "Ultra" in Mac world refer to the power of the chips.
 
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I think they changed it from 'Plus' to 'Max' because, at the time, the iPhone XS Max (the first to use the 'Max' branding) was the largest screen they'd put into a phone. It was 'bigger than plus' if that makes any sense. I seem to recall Phil Shiller saying something to this effect during the 2018 iPhone keynote.

The 'Max' branding must've been successful as it's since made it's way to the AirPods and Mac lineups.

EDIT: Found the quote from Phil Shiller. "What do we call a phone that's bigger than plus size? Well we call it iPhone XS Max"

 
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Other phone manufacturers started using the 'Plus' name for their phones too after Apple did it. I have yet to see another Android phone call their large phone a Max. Most likely it would look too 'copycat'.
 
Good points brought up. Maybe to some extent it was a combination of some or all of these things. ?
 
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eyoungren said:
I stopped thinking about what Apple was naming stuff around the time where Apple was selling Quadras and Performas and this's and thats's. Then the whole 'i' nomenclature came in with the iMac.

What you say makes sense, but I just don't think about it anymore. Trying to keep up with what Apple calls all their product is a losing game.
Click to expand...
Agree. Stopped trying to make sense when Apple updated an early version of the iPad with a new…”iPad,” and when they bypassed the iPhone 9. Or when they replaced the iPad Air with an iPad Air. For a smart company, the naming sure is dumb sometimes.
 
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Mania89 said:
Plus - Has additional features that one would call a “better” version of the regular series. For example, 1080p display, additional camera lens.

Max - Same as the regular series but just bigger. Same resolution, same camera system (except for the 12 Pro series). Just larger and comes with one perk such as better battery life.
Click to expand...

This is the general wisdom - the Plus phones always had extra stuff (dual lens, OIS, etc). The Max is just mo bigger.
 
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