This is what the 'i' actually stands for in iPhone, iPad and iPod and it's not what you might think
Published on Jan 29, 2026 at 6:46 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Jan 29, 2026 at 6:46 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
People are now beginning to find out what the ‘i ‘ stands for in an Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod – and the answer from the late Steve Jobs is not what you might have expected.
Many of us have probably never even given a thought as to what the ‘i’ in the Apple devices means, but those who have wondered have come up with some good theories.
Yet those who are speculating don’t need to do so any longer, as it turns out that the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, revealed exactly what the ‘i’ meant in 1998.
So if you want to know why it’s an ‘iPhone’, ‘iPod’, or ‘iPad’, then we just have to look to the past.
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What the ‘i’ in iPhone actually means
Some have speculated whether it stood for ‘intelligent’ or ‘indispensable’.
Others have suggested that it could mean ‘I’ in terms of ‘my phone.’
But the real answer is far simpler than that.
Reader’s Digest reported that Jobs confirmed the ‘i’ stands for ‘internet, individual, instruct, inform, and inspire’.
But the Apple founder also said there was no official meaning to the letter.
It could have stood for ‘I’ as in a personal pronoun, or for instruction for teaching employees.
So while many of us like to think there is a grand meaning behind it, the reality is very different.
So now you know.
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What Apple users have said about the revelation
Across social media, many users of Apple products have been surprised to learn about the ‘i’.
Some have said they thought it was because of the iOS software, or that it was a personal pronoun.
One even said they wondered about it when they went to bed.
Like a lot of these things, the meaning behind this symbol is as simple as its appearance.
Of course, it is the iPhone that is the most well-known of all the Apple products.
The very first version was shown off to the world by Steve Jobs in January 2007.
It was released to the public later that year.
Now, the phone is on its 17th generation.
As of July 2025, over three billion iPhones had been sold around the globe.
Its success shows no sign of slowing down.
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a leading heritage steam railway in England.
