Some sources reckon Apple will call its next major handset the iPhone 12S rather than iPhone 13, so which will it be?
We’ve mostly been referring to Apple’s next numbered iPhone as the iPhone 13, but is that actually what it will launch as? Given that it follows the iPhone 12, it would make sense for it to, but there are a couple of reasons why it might not. Below, we’ll look at what those reasons are, what Apple might call the next major iPhone instead (with iPhone 12S being the most likely alternative option but not the only one), and what the rumors say so far. We’ll also consider how likely an alternative name actually is, and as soon as we hear anything else about the name, we’ll be sure to update this piece. So why might Apple not call its next major phone the iPhone 13? One reason is that it sometimes follows up a numbered model with an ‘S’ version. For example, the iPhone 6 was followed by the iPhone 6S. But that’s not a pattern Apple always sticks to, and in fact the last ‘S’ model was the iPhone XS – so the iPhone 12 followed the iPhone 11, with no iPhone 11S in between. So if Apple continues with what it’s been doing for the last couple of years then we can expect the iPhone 13, but if it goes back to using an ‘S’ then we’ll likely get the iPhone 12S.
