Why Apple Products Start with “i”

With Steve Jobs resigning this week, I’d like to pay tribute to his legacy: the “i.”

Most Apple products start with i:

• iMac
• iPod
• iTunes
• iPhone
• iPad
• iOS
• iCloud

What does the “i” stand for?  Does it mean “me?”

Well, it can, but that’s not the original meaning.  For that we must go back to 1998.  Steve Jobs, interim CEO, launched the iMac that year.

At the iMac launch he said,

The iMac comes from the marriage of the internet with the simplicity of a Macintosh. We are targeting this for the #1 use that consumers tell us they want a computer for, which is to get on the internet–simply and fast. Source: YouTube

Steve hammered the point again in 2000 when he became full-time CEO.  He called himself the “iCEO.” But why the “i”?

I’m going to choose that title to remind myself of what’s really important, which is, of course, the internet. Source: YouTube

So, “i” is for internet:

• internetMac
• internetPod
• internetTunes
• internetPhone
• internetPad
• internetOS
• internetCloud

It all makes sense now.

Back then the internet was a feature. We accessed it with only desktops or laptops, with only web browsers or email clients. Steve wanted to integrate the internet in many more ways and make it as fast and simple as possible.

Now it’s ubiquitous. We can access the internet in a myriad of ways. We expect our consumer devices to access, sync, or store data over the internet. If they don’t, they’re called “dumb” devices.  The internet is no longer a feature.

Perhaps Apple will adopt a new moniker.  Or maybe they will continue to integrate the internet in innovative ways.  I hear they’re working on a completely new product line that will blow our minds.  iMinds?