Apple says goodbye to "i": goodbye to the Steve Jobs era

Chinese people value the meaning of names, and so do foreigners. You see, every time you chat with a foreigner you just met, everyone usually likes to start with the topic of "the meaning behind the name", because this is a consensus across regions and races - names have specific meanings and also represent the intentions of the namer. Apple's current CEO Tim Cook also feels the same way.

After Apple's new product launch on September 10, the whole world knew that it had launched a new product - Apple Watch. Before that, when people predicted this product, they habitually called it "iWatch" - yes, we naturally thought that whether it was a health watch or a mobile payment function, the name of Apple's new product should start with "i", such as "iWatch", "iPay" or "iWallet", just like the iMac in 1998, the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010.

However, after quoting Jobs' famous phrase "One more thing", Cook made it clear that my new product is called Apple Watch, not iWatch, let alone iTime. Yes, he finally officially announced in this way: Apple in the Jobs era has come to an end.

The shadow of the previous

"Unlike when you saw the iPhone and you were excited, when you look at the Apple Watch, you will hesitate whether to buy it or not."

Although this is just a joke among industry insiders, it is enough to show how people rate Cook. It is understood that the Wall Street Journal once interpreted Cook's choice of the Flint Theater, where Steve Jobs launched the first Mac computer, to launch the Apple Watch as a tribute to Steve Jobs in this way, that is, "carrying on the past", and on the other hand, he also wanted to show that Apple in the Steve Jobs era has ended, and Cook will create a new era of innovation for Apple, that is, "starting the future".

In this regard, the attitude of foreign media has been somewhat complicated recently. The technology media theVerge believes that after entering the Cook era, although Apple has lost the toughness of the past Jobs era, it is indeed more in line with the current trend of the times where customer needs are paramount. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, also said, "We believe that Apple is launching the strongest products and services ever."

However, some media, led by CNET, expressed sadness. They believed that although Cook called Apple Watch "the next new chapter in Apple's history," like the Apple TV set-top box, it no longer had the "i" prefix and did not have the eye-catching creativity of the past.

Inheritance and Subversion

"It doesn't really matter to me whether (Jobs) thought so, because that was his idea, his taste, his understanding of innovation, but these things are still rooted in Apple today."

Cook called Jobs' indelible mark on Apple "integrated into Apple's foundation like its DNA." In the past three years, he has been working hard to establish and consolidate his position as a decision-maker and perfectly inherit the glory that Jobs created on the iPhone and iPad. But now, he is no longer simply breaking the tradition of "innovators working in isolation" or encouraging team coordination and cooperation. He has also changed the name of the product.

CNET pointed out in the article that under the Steve Jobs era, single products were advocated, and all products must pursue "uniqueness". In other words, to a certain extent, Steve Jobs required users to adapt to his products. But after Cook took over, Apple became more and more "friendly" - from 5S and 5C to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+, even Apple Watch has two sizes, Cook began to adapt products to user needs. Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Kantar Worldpanel, quite agrees with this, "You have to know that this company does not belong to one person, it is a collection of different people. For Cook, he is more of a sharer."

The author mentioned in the biography of Steve Jobs that the "i" in Steve Jobs' era originated from the "i" in "Internet", and some people think it stands for "me" to emphasize the self. However, Pat Moorhead, a senior analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, believes that this "i" is no longer the same as the previous "i". "The real 'i' era has passed. Now its only benefit is the market's recognition and effect. It has actually become a stale symbol."

A simple patent issue?

Some industry insiders believe that the change in product name may be related to a patent dispute.

As we all know, the iPad trademark dispute in 2007 was a hot topic, and Cook did not want to leave himself any trouble by changing the name to Apple Watch. In this regard, Ross Rubin, an analyst at Reticle Research, also believes that the "i" prefix has too many historical disputes, "Although it has a certain meaning for the product family series, compared to 'i', 'Apple' is more traditional." For this reason, Ross Rubin specifically cited the MacBook, "It has no prefix, but it is still a heavyweight product of Apple."

As to why the “i” was abandoned, no one except Cook can really speculate. But there is no doubt that the Steve Jobs era of Apple disappeared along with the “i” prefix.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.