You’ve seen it every day for nearly two decades. It sits there, lowercase and unassuming, right in front of the most famous product name in history. But honestly, most people just assume the "i" in iPhone stands for "internet."
They aren't wrong. But they’re not entirely right, either.
Back in 1998, Apple was a company on the brink of total collapse. Steve Jobs had just returned, and he needed a win. That win was the iMac. When he stood on stage to introduce that translucent, Bondi-Blue bubble of a computer, he didn't just name it; he gave a presentation that defined the "i" prefix forever.
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The Five Pillars of the i
During that 1998 keynote, Jobs projected a slide that explicitly laid out what that little letter meant. It wasn't just a branding gimmick. It was a philosophy.
According to Steve Jobs, the "i" stands for:
- Internet
- Individual
- Instruct
- Inform
- Inspire
The primary goal of the original iMac was to get people on the internet in "ten minutes or less." At a time when configuring a modem felt like performing open-heart surgery, this was a massive selling point. But Jobs also wanted the "i" to represent the individual nature of the computer—it was a personal machine. He saw it as a tool to instruct (for education), inform, and inspire.
It’s kinda wild to think about now, but the name "iMac" almost never happened. Steve Jobs actually hated it at first.
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He wanted to call the computer "MacMan." Ken Segall, the creative director at the ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day, had to pitch "iMac" twice before Jobs finally relented. Segall argued that the "i" was short, snappy, and perfectly captured the burgeoning era of the World Wide Web. Jobs eventually saw a prototype with the iMac name printed on it and decided it looked right. The rest is history.
Does it still mean Internet on the iPhone?
When the iPhone launched in 2007, the internet was no longer a novelty. It was the air we breathed. However, the prefix was already a global juggernaut thanks to the iPod.
By the time the iPhone arrived, the "i" had morphed into a symbol of the Apple ecosystem. It didn't just mean "internet phone," although that was a huge part of the original pitch. Remember, Jobs described the iPhone as three devices in one: a wide-screen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device. The "i" served as the bridge between those three identities. It told the consumer, "This is part of that same family of devices that changed how you listen to music and use a computer."
Why the i is slowly disappearing
Have you noticed that newer Apple products don't use it anymore?
We don't have an iWatch; we have the Apple Watch. There is no iTV; we have Apple TV. There is no iGlass; we have the Vision Pro.
There are a few reasons for this shift. First, it's hard to trademark a single letter. Apple has fought countless legal battles over the years—most notably with Cisco, who actually owned the "iPhone" trademark before Apple launched their device. They eventually reached a settlement, but it was a headache Apple wanted to avoid in the future.
Second, the "i" branding has become a bit of a victim of its own success. Every cheap knockoff accessory in the early 2010s started putting an "i" in front of their name to sound like an Apple product. By moving to "Apple [Product Name]," the company reclaimed its brand identity in a way that’s legally bulletproof.
What you should know today
Even though Apple is moving away from the prefix for new hardware, the "i" isn't going anywhere for the iPhone or iPad. It’s too iconic. It has become a prefix that signals "personal and connected."
If you want to get the most out of that "i" philosophy today, here are some actionable ways to lean into the original five pillars:
- Individualize your experience: Use the "Focus" modes in iOS to ensure your phone serves your personal needs rather than just being a distraction machine.
- Inform and Instruct: Dive into the "Screen Time" settings to see if your "internet" usage is actually serving the "inform" and "inspire" goals Steve Jobs originally envisioned.
- Check your connectivity: Ensure your iCloud (the "i" lives on in software!) is properly syncing across devices. This is the modern realization of the "internet" pillar—the idea that your data should be everywhere you are, seamlessly.
The "i" might have started as a way to sell a computer that looked like a piece of candy, but it ended up defining the digital age. Next time you look at your iPhone, remember it’s not just a phone—it's an individual, internet-connected, instructional, informative, and (hopefully) inspirational tool.