One of the most commanding brands globally, Apple, never released an iPhone 9. After launching the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, they jumped straight to the iPhone X. Ever wondered why they skipped the number 9?
In various parts of the world, certain numbers carry superstitions. For instance, in China, the number 4 is considered unlucky thus many buildings skip the 4th floor. Similarly, in the West, the number 13 is often avoided due to its unlucky reputation.
Apple has always maintained a level of secrecy around their product launches. They’ve never publicly explained why they chose to skip the iPhone 9 series.
This led to so much speculation and as usual, secrecy always breeds heavy speculation. Why didn’t the iPhone 9 really happen?
Of course, people thought of any possible beef Apple could be having with the number 9. However, the most likely cause for them to skip the iPhone 9 series really boils down to 3 reasons:
1. iPhone’s 10th Anniversary
At the time of the release of the iPhone 9, it was actually the smartphone’s 10th birthday. It just came one year short on the device numbering. Instead of biting the bullet and following convention, Apple decided to skip the 9 series and moved to the iPhone X (X is the Roman numeral 10).
Apple threw iPhone a lavish birthday party by tying its naming to the anniversary. They made sure that the device was special too. This was the first gadget at the time to break the $1000 mark in price.
The iPhone X had a completely different outlook from the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. It had face ID recognition, the first of its kind, in contrast to the home button. Hence why naming it the iPhone 9 would just feel weak.
2. To draw the hype
These days, the iPhone design is something we almost take for granted. Every year, we’re eager to see what’s changed, and for most people, the first thing to check is the camera design and quality, probably you too.
Back in the day, around 2017, the new iPhone X’s design and functionality was a big deal to the tech giant and its fans. For Apple, this was supposed to be their first major cash cow and needed proper marketing.
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To justify the higher price tag, Apple needed the iPhone to stand out and appeal to their loyal customers. At the same time, they aimed to attract Android users, hoping to convince them to switch allegiance to iOS.
Interestingly, after the iPhone X’s price was hiked above $1000, other Android brands followed suit and began pricing their flagship devices somewhere close to $1000. This, plus inflation, is the reason why great phones cost an arm and a leg.
3. It made sense from a marketing perspective
‘X’ is one of the coolest letters of the alphabet, think about it. Psychologically, humans are hard-wired to respond to the letter X to have a myriad of connotations. In this case, ‘X’ marks the spot when searching for treasure.
Additionally, the X branding gives a visual punch and Apple definitely knew that 9 wouldn’t have the same impact for such a big occasion. It took a lot of marketing genius from the Apple team to pull this off.
Ladies and gentlemen, these are the 3 most probable reasons why the iPhone 9 was never launched.