What Does The ‘I’ In iPhone Stand For? Here’s What Steve Jobs Had To Say – SlashGear

Given the iPhone popularity, many people assume it to be the first Apple product to bear the “i” prefix. Nothing could be further from the truth. The first use of the “i” prefix on Apple products predates the iPhone by nearly a decade — when, in 1998 — Steve Jobs announced a brand-new lineup of desktop computers called the iMac.

The iMac was among the first devices launched under Steve Jobs’, who returned to Apple in 1997 after being fired in 1985. Nevertheless, it was during the unveiling of the first-generation iMac in 1998 that Steve Jobs first mentioned what the “i” in the iMac stood for. In his launch event speech, he touted the iMac as a device designed to give consumers the best possible internet experience.

In the late 90s, the internet was a very new phenomenon, and there was a demand from consumers to easily access it. In his keynote address, he made it clear that the “i” in iMac represents the internet. It was evident from the promotional tagline for the iMac — “The excitement of the internet. The simplicity of Macintosh”.

While that effectively settles the argument, something interesting happens a few seconds later when Jobs goes on to add how the “i” also represents several other things for Apple. A slide shows the words “individual,” “instruct,” “inform,” and “inspire,” along with “internet” effectively indicating that the “i” in iMac could take any meaning the consumer wants.

Ultimately, Apple would go on to use the “i” moniker on many of its future products, and Apple consumers still feel a special connection to the brand.