The i-era. Is it abandoning it? — Apple created

Apple makes an interesting branding shift.

Apple introduced a few fresh products today.

As expected, it introduced the iPhone 6.

It also introduced the iWatch–

–Wait, no it didn’t. It introduced the Apple Watch.

It also introduced a fresh payments solution called Apple Pay.

This is a big shift. Apple obviously can’t change the name of the iPhone, but it chose to brand its fresh products and services as Apple instead of i-.

Apple created the ‘i’ brand, but it never owned it. Countless firms and products use the ‘i’ prefix for products, regardless of whether they are for use with iPhones and iPads.

This might be hard to believe, but at the turn of the century, no one used the i prefix. It was all regarding e-this and e-that. I know since I still own a bunch of e-domains.

Then Apple came along with its fresh-fangled iPod and that all changed.

Now, it would seem, Apple is moving more toward its flagship brandname.

What does this mean for the ‘i’ prefix? Not much, at least for now. Between iPhones, iPads and iOS, Apple has engrained the i prefix into the everyday vernacular.