What does the 's' character mean in iPhone 5s and 6s series

Question

I found a similar question for iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 4s here. So what about the 's' character meaning in 5s and 6s series of iPhone?

I take it as something like second thought, or maybe superior. — ryenus, Dec 18 '15 at 12:27
I agree with other answers, but I'd like to note something. Whenever Apple appends an S to an iPhone, they change the interior rather than the looks of it. It is true for all generations, for instance the 3G & 3GS look the same, and so do the 4 & 4S, and so on. — pwn'cat, Dec 18 '15 at 20:11

minseong · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-28T20:07:35.853

9

The iPhone 5s "s" apparently stands for security (they added touch ID), but the "s" in iPhone 6s is still largely debated, though some have speculated that it might be for sensitivity (as per the new 3D Touch features)

However, apple has never really released any official information regarding what the s stands for in any models other than the 3GS and 4s.

But really, I don't think apple plans what the s stands for, it is just a symbol to show that this model has improvements upon its predecessor, but is not altogether different.

edited Mar 28 '18 at 20:07

answered Dec 18 '15 at 11:44

minseong

8,824

The 4s did have an official s in the form of an interview question answer. – grg Dec 18 '15 at 14:42

RedEagle2000 · Answer 2 · 2015-12-18T21:06:25.363

It's debatable.

Some say the "s" always stands for "successor". Like how the 6s makes great improvements on the 6, but since it doesn't have a new design, Apple shouldn't really call it the iPhone 7.

However, Phil Schiller, at the iPhone 3GS release event, said specifically that the S in 3GS stood for "speed", based on how much faster it was than the 3G.

Fans also sometimes make up their own meanings for what the s stands for:

iPhone 4s: Siri

iPhone 5s: Security (for TouchID)

However, at this point, Apple's naming scheme is set after almost a decade and they'll just give every other iPhone name an s, so it likely does just mean successor.

Oops. They haven't used the 'S' moniker since. – samh Mar 28 '18 at 20:52 — samh, Mar 28 '18 at 20:52

score -5 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 18 '15 at 12:19

-5

s stands for "We don't really have enough features to release a new iPhone, but we're gonna do it anyway."

answered Dec 18 '15 at 12:19

james.garriss

1,914

IMO s models are much better: Video Recording, Siri, 64-bit processing, TouchID, 3D Touch were all introduced on s models. Non-s models are great and add new features too, but s models really improve on the older model. – RedEagle2000 Dec 18 '15 at 20:37

score -5 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 21 '16 at 21:55

-5

the "S" stands for 'Same' IPhone 5Same

answered Mar 21 '16 at 21:55

vensalgameing

1

Really? I don't think that the iPhone 5 had TouchID, a 64-bit A7 SoC, came in gold, recorded in slo-mo, or had burst mode. – RedEagle2000 Mar 21 '16 at 22:17
2

I like this joke~ – Itachi Mar 22 '17 at 03:15

What does the 's' character mean in iPhone 5s and 6s series

4 Answers4