It appears that the name of Apple’s 2021 iPhone may have accidentally been divulged. According to a report from TrendForce, a market research company for consumer electronics, the tentatively named iPhone 12s has appeared several times, leading speculators like Jon Prosser to believe that it might be the moniker for this year’s lineup.
Prosser reported earlier this year that the “13” series would instead be named “12s”, alleging that this matches the claims he made back in February. As with 2015’s iPhone 6s and 2018’s iPhone Xs, the naming scheme correlates with minor upgrades to the lineup, as reported by a Bloomberg article citing Apple engineers.
TrendForce also confirms the smaller notch in previously leaked renders and expects the phone to feature the A15 chip, which is based on TSMC’s 5nm+ process node. Despite initial rumours, the lineup’s storage capacity will remain maxed out at 500GB instead of an upgraded capacity of 1TB.
Analysts believe that Apple may skip the iPhone 13 moniker altogether and jump ahead to the iPhone 14 in 2022. This comes as the number “13” is considered spooky in many western cultures. Technology manufacturers occasionally follow superstitions for the sake of marketing, such as when Qualcomm adopted the number “888” for its latest flagship because it is a lucky number in China.
The minor changes in the iPhone 12s series could pave the way for major upgrades in the iPhone 14. The Bloomberg article mentions that the Cupertino company has been working on a foldable iPhone that unfolds to a similar size as the 6.7-inch display on the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Other speculated upgrades include an in-screen fingerprint scanner and a complete migration to the wireless magnetic MagSafe charging system, removing the charging port altogether.
Having said that, there are no guarantees about what name will be slapped on this year’s iPhone until Apple’s fall event. Until then, we’ll just have to stay tuned and follow the breadcrumbs.
(Sources: FPT, Bloomberg, Gizchina // Image: EVERYTHINGAPPLEPRO)
