Rosario Monachino
Have you ever wondered what the ‘i’ in iPhone stands for? Well, you wouldn’t be the only one.
Steve Jobs, who sadly passed away in 2011, co-founded the technology giant Apple, which is behind everyday products such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Macbook.
Despite the gadgets’ popularity, many people have been left baffled as to what the ‘i’ in the brand’s products actually stands for.
But now there appears to be an answer, of sorts.
Related Article: Steve Jobs Had ‘Beer Test’ He Used To Hire People At Apple
Related Article: Why People Are Setting Their iPhone Location To France
Over the years, many people have tried to guess what the ‘i’ represents, with one person taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) and guessing: “Internet phone.”
While someone else suggested: “Apple or my eye (I). Hence iMac, iPad, iPod, iPhone.”
“Innovation,” commented a third.
Another guessed: “Indispensable.”
So… what does it stand for? Well, it doesn’t actually stand for just one thing.
According to Readers Digest, when the iMac was first introduced in 1998, it was believed the ‘i’ originally stood for ‘Internet’ – to highlight its revolutionary Internet capacities.
But when the Apple co-founder presented the product on stage, Jobs displayed it with five different meanings – ‘internet’, ‘individual’, ‘instruct’, ‘inform’, and ‘inspire’.
When unveiling the iMac, Jobs said (via The Sun): “We are targeting [the iMac] for the number-one use that consumers tell us they want a computer for, which is to get on the internet.
“We’re targeting it also for education. They [educators] want to buy these, and it’s perfect for most of the things they do in instruction.
“It’s perfect for finding tremendous source[s] of information over the internet, and we hope, as you see the product, it will inspire us all to make even better products in the future.”
Related Article: People Left Baffled As 150-Year-Old Painting Seems To Show ‘Woman Using An iPhone’
Related Article: Apple Issues Warning To People Who Charge Their iPhone Overnight
Shortly before his death in 2011, Jobs would also say that the ‘i’ could possibly mean a ‘personal pronoun’ and ‘instruction’ for education purposes – as per Paul Bischoff, a privacy advocate at Comparitech, via Readers Digest.
It is worth noting that while it’s believed the ‘i’ originally stood for internet, not every Apple product had the ability to browse the web.
Most notably, iPods could only play music before eventually being able to screen films.
However, when the iPhone launched in 2007, the iPod touch launched alongside it and consumers would be able to browse the web on it too.
So while Jobs did initially present five words that the ‘i’ could stand for, it seems that it is largely open to interpretation – with consumers making up their own minds as to what it actually means.
Do you have a story for us? If so, email us at [email protected]. All contact will be treated in confidence.
