Apple had been referring to the new iPhone in marketing materials and on their website as the 3G S, with a space between the “3G” and “S.” But then, in a press release issued a few days ago, Apple referred to it as the 3GS. Now it appears they have changed every mention of the new iPhone on their website to iPhone 3GS—no space. Most are reading this as an official name change.
However they want to spell it, the name has been a pain for many so far. For writers, the problem with 3GS is that it looks awkward when made plural, like this: I have three iPhone 3GSs. And if you read that sentence out loud, you’ll find it just as awkward to say as to read.
Most books on writing usually advise to avoid such awkwardness by recasting the sentence so it’s singular again, like this: I have several units of the iPhone 3GS (with the word “units” taking the plural instead). Apple itself seems to have taken this advice when it used this headline for a press release: “Apple Sells Over One Million iPhone 3GS Models.” Notice how they use the word “models” instead of the plural 3GSs.
Another problem with the name that has been around since last year is that “3G” is also used as an acronym to describe 3rd generation iPods (3G iPod, 2G iPod, etc). In fact, our search logs indicate many people thought the new iPhone would be called the 4G, with 4 being one more than 3, of course. 3G refers to the type of wireless network it connects to, not the generation of the iPhone.
Personally, I think Apple should just have called it the iPhone and let the rest of us sort it out.
#1 by Matt on June 29th, 2009
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Proper English people! The correct plural is “iPhones 3GS”. This is just like “iPods Touch” or “Attorneys General.” The “S” comes at the end of the first word, not the second.
#2 by Alan on June 29th, 2009
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“Attorneys General” is an unusual case because “General” is considered an adjective and therefore can’t be made plural (as in “General Attorneys”). It’s derived from a French term, and in French the adjective follows the noun. Again, it’s an unusual pluralization and not considered “proper English.”