Apple, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Qualcomm have all decided that this is the year to throw naming conventions out the window.
When was the last time you saw a product’s name, decided it sounded like your next purchase, and pulled the trigger? I can bet it happened all of zero times.
For some reason, chip producers, phone makers, and software developers all decided at once that this was the perfect year to rename their offerings.
Apple jumped from iOS 18 to iOS 26. Xiaomi announced the 17 series instead of the 16. OnePlus is skipping 14. And don’t even get me started on Qualcomm.
Keeping up with tech news is complicated as it is, even for a journalist. Companies are making it harder to keep track of new launches by capricious name changes.
I get it, all companies need to reinvent certain aspects every few years, and naming changes are an integral part of rebranding efforts.
What doesn’t make sense is Xiaomi blatantly admitting that the sole reason it strayed from its usual naming convention is that it wanted its new phones to be viewed as direct iPhone 17 Pro rivals. While less informed customers may fall for such tactics, most consumers would perceive this as desperation.
