While the Sept. 22 release of the iPhone 8 is is almost upon us, another new iPhone is coming out on Nov. 3: The iPhone X. Now, it's really pronounced out loud as "iPhone 10," but typed out, it seems Apple took more of a Roman numeral route rather than sticking to numbers. Interestingly enough, though, in addition to utilizing Roman numerals, iPhone X is an anagram for Phoenix, which in Greek mythology is a bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn from its own ashes. Coincidence? I'm not sure, but the description of the iPhone X sounds like one continuous experience, so even if it is coincidental, the anagram is fitting.
"Our vision has always been to create an iPhone that is entirely screen. One so immersive the device itself disappears into the experience. And so intelligent it can respond to a tap, your voice, and even a glance," Apple reported on its website. "The display employs new techniques and technology to precisely follow the curves of the design, all the way to the elegantly rounded corner."
Apple is billing the iPhone X as the phone of the future. With facial recognition ID, wireless charging, and more, it's certainly beyond what anyone ever imagine a phone could be.
In comparison, the phoenix is, "A mythical bird that never dies, the phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. The phoenix, with its great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration," The Feng Shui Handbook, Feng Shui Master Lam Kam Chuen, according to the website Mythic Realm.
And, that description represents the iPhone X with stunning accuracy.
According to Digital Trends, the iPhone X commemorates the iPhones 10-year anniversary. But, this is where we may be able to dispel the phoenix rumors because Digital Trends reported that it's actually pronounced iPhone 10 to celebrate the milestone. However, that doesn't mean the comparison isn't accurate.
"In our view, Apple took the iPhone franchise to a whole new level with the iPhone X, pushing the company deep into the ultra-luxury smartphone market," Brian White, an analyst Drexel Hamilton, wrote in an investor note Wednesday, CNN reported.
The evolution of the iPhone during its 10 years can be compared to the phoenix. According to the website Ancient Origins, "Legend paints a picture of a magical bird, radiant and shimmering, which lives for several hundred years before it dies by bursting into flames. It is then reborn from the ashes, to start a new, long life."
So, you can think of the iPhone X as Apple's rebirth, and it's swift move to reclaim its throne as the queen of all smartphones. Kind of like if a smartphone were Beyoncé or Lady Gaga, who both engage in a constant cycle of reinvention and rebirth, always emerging on top. And, like these two women, Apple went about its rebirth in the same way the phoenix does.
"When it feels its end approaching, [the phoenix] builds a nest with the finest aromatic woods, sets it on fire, and is consumed by the flames," Tina Garnet wrote in The Phoenix in Egyptian, Arab, & Greek Mythology, according to Ancient Origins. "From the pile of ashes, a new phoenix arises, young and powerful."
And, with some of the most sophisticated technology Apple has ever developed, including the cameras and sensors that enable Face ID, the iPhone X is definitely a phoenix.
