Jason Snell:

This is the third year of the iPhone X hardware family, and the second year for the iPhone XR, so changes to the external design of Apple’s phones — often the biggest driver of a huge sales bump — are unlikely. The presence of the iPhone XR adds another wrinkle as Apple continues to try to differentiate it from the company’s more expensive models. And then there’s the iPhone X name itself, which seems unlikely to be continued through another generation. iPhone XRM? iPhone XST? Yuck.

And:

If you ask me, one of the worst product names Apple has ever generated is iPhone XS Max. Apple’s large ultrapremium phone takes the ridiculous Roman numeral/letter combination of the entire 2018 phone generation and, well, maxes it out. iPhone 11 Pro Max would be slightly less bad, but it’s still ridiculous.

Interesting look at Apple’s iPhone naming conundrum. Do you go with XI? 11? Do you follow the Mac’s lead and come up with a long-term name, like iPhone Air, iPhone Pro, and iPhone Max, then append the year to lock in a specific model?

That last approach would help unify Apple’s product strategy, make things just a bit less confusing.

But the die is cast, product names long locked in. Are the first boxes printed and warehoused, ready to jet their way to Apple Stores around the world? Or is that switch still to be thrown?