What does the “R” in iPhone XR stand for?

This year Apple introduced three new devices and with a new moniker, “XR”. If you have been curious to know the meaning behind the “R” suffix in the iPhone XR, you don’t have to anymore – because Apple has provided with the reason why they’ve chosen the letter “R” for what is arguably the most important device in this year’s iPhone line up.

It turns out, the letter “R” in iPhone XR has no meaning. This, according to Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, who told Engadget in an interview. Yes, you read that right, the “R” in iPhone XR has no meaning. He has also admitted that the S in the iPhone XS and XS Max– means nothing in particular, which is odd considering the S had meaning in previous iterations of the iPhone.

While the suffix may not carry a specific meaning but Schiller elaborates that it is in reference to a topic that is close to him. 

He mentioned that he loves cars and things that go extremely fast and the suffix R and S are letters used to denote sports cars that are extra special. In the interview, Schiller reveals that the letters reference car manufacturers like Porshe and Mercedes Benz, which has both R and S class vehicles.

But if we are looking back at the previous lineup of iPhones, it seems that things haven’t always been this way. Years before both the iPhone XS and XR came to the iPhone SE, which Apple has confirmed that it is referring to as “Special Edition”. If you haven’t noticed, the company has also used the suffix “S” all the way back to the iPhone 3GS, suggesting that it simply stands for speed – because it is the most powerful and fastest iPhone they’ve ever made back then. Even the iPhone 4S name has meaning behind it.

According to CEO Tim Cook he explained that the “S”  designation on the iPhone 4S stood for Siri, which was the very first time the company introduced their digital assistant. One other unique letter used by Apple for the iPhone is “C” in the iPhone 5C. There’s some debate on what the letter stands for with many saying that it stands for “colour” considering the many colour options offered for the iPhone 5C while others saying it doesn’t have any meaning.

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