iPhone 8 or iPhone Edition? This leak teases new Apple phone name

The name of Apple’s next three smartphones may have been revealed, giving us a better idea of what to expect at this month’s launch event.

It’s always a bit of a guessing game, trying to work out what Apple will name it’s next smartphone. In recent times, we’ve come to expect a tick-tock naming protocol, where a number name device (like iPhone 6) is followed a device with the letter ‘S’ tacked on the end (like iPhone 6S). This allowed Apple to reserve big changes for new-number models, while offering more incremental upgrades on an ‘S’ model.

But Apple may be scrapping that system this year, if a new report is to be believed. Specialist Apple blog 9to5mac has published a report that details conversations with iPhone case makers from Shenzhen, China, which were undertaken during this week’s IFA 2017 tech tradeshow in Berlin.

According to those case makers – who requested anonymity, for obvious reasons – the following names will be given to three new smartphone models launching out of Apple HQ later this month:

• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone Edition

So apparently confident are these case makers that they’ve already begun printing packaging and sticker labels using these names, which is a good sign that they’re onto something. After all, case makers are often privy to non-public information about smartphones, so they have the capacity to prepare stock in time for a handset’s launch.

So is this surprising news? Well, not really. For a long time, it’s been rumoured that Apple would use its September 2017 event to showcase two fairly incremental smartphones, which were originally rumoured as the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus.

These handsets would – so the rumours say – be accompanied by a third, special edition ‘iPhone 8’ that would mark the 10th anniversary since the first iPhone went on sale back in 2007. This device would have bonus features, including an OLED display and an all-screen front design.

That theory is looking increasingly correct, although the naming may have been a little off. It certainly makes more sense to have iPhone 8 as the standard name, and use the ‘Edition’ term to denote a special model – as we saw with the gilded Apple Watch Edition, for instance.

It also means Apple’s naming strategy will keep pace with Samsung, a fierce rival that has already turned out two ‘8’-numbered phones this year – Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. There’s a belief that how phones are numbered has an impact on consumer purchasing habits. That’s why it’s often believed that Samsung skipped straight over the Galaxy Note 6 and launched the Note 7 last year, purportedly in a bid to align itself with Apple’s then-upcoming iPhone 7.

In any case, we’ll know the full truth of the matter on September 12, which is when Apple’s big annual launch event is scheduled for. Stay tuned.

Related: Best Android phones

What would you like the next iPhone to be called? Let us know in the comments.