Clever reason why Apple stopped making iPhone ’S’ models

Apple has made a lot of radical decisions over its years as a tech innovator.

Decades after using its iconic bitten-apple logo on MacBooks, Apple made the decision to phase it out on future products after 2015. Alongside this, Steve Jobs made a last-minute call to scrap the iPad's calculator design just weeks before its shipment.

So, whatever happened to the iPhone S models?

YouTube channel Apple Explained showed why the billion-dollar tech company decided to end the iPhone naming scheme after a decade.

To fully understand, we have to go back to the traditional iPhone release cycle.

iPhone X models were the last the receive the 'S' suffix / Anadolu / Contributor / Getty

'Previously Apple released a major update to the iPhone every two years

with a minor update in between,' the narrator of Apple Explained pointed out.

The 'S' naming scheme was designed to highlight the original phone models with some added improvements.

For example, the iPhone 3GS in 2009 was an upgrade from the iPhone 3G in that it 'featured a speed bump and lower price.'

Whereas, the iPhone 4S in 2011 simply included the software addition of Siri - an advancement from the iPhone 4 in 2010.

However, after the 6S was released, things got a little messy.

Disappointment among customers struck when in 2016 and 2017, when the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 were released respectively. Both phone models seemed more like a minor update with no new major design change, despite being new numbers. Specifically, the iPhone ended up looking the same as the iPhone 6 and 6S - and the same for the iPhone 8.

Apple fans expected a new model number that, instead, 'virtually had the same design as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.'

Apple deemed it no longer realistic to produce a new phone every one or two years / NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty

Then, everything changed when it came to the iPhone X. In 2017, the iPhone X was released, skipping the iPhone 9 altogether and getting rid of the traditional notch and swipe navigation.

However, compared to the release cycle every two years, the new iPhone X model actually took three years to hit the shelves instead of the usual two.

'Apple was forced to go an extra year without a major upgrade,' the video added.

Apple did eventually bring the 'S' suffix on their iPhone X although it would be the last time.

The digital giant realised that it was 'no longer realistic to create a radical, new iPhone every two years. It would likely take three or even four years.'

Therefore, Apple decided to keep things simple to avoid further confusion in its product line.

Every new generation of iPhone would have a new number 'regardless of design changes or additional features.