--- description: Apple's announcement of the new iPhone X left many with a question: Is "X" pronounced like the letter or the number? title: This Is How to Pronounce the iPhone X image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5449e0f5ffddbc7e/6988dd9297cdff19356b26ba/gettyimages-846247196.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is How to Pronounce the iPhone X by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2017 3:07 PM CUT  Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces iPhone X during the Apple launch event on September 12, 2017 in Cupertino, California. Apple Inc. unveiled its new iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and the Apple Watch Series 3 at the new Apple Park campus. Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces iPhone X during the Apple launch event on September 12, 2017 in Cupertino, California. Apple Inc. unveiled its new iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and the Apple Watch Series 3 at the new Apple Park campus.Photograph by Qi Heng—VCG/Getty by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2017 3:07 PM CUT Apple just released a [new line of iPhones](http://time.com/4935703/apple-event-summary/ "undefined"), including a special model with extra features to mark the [smartphone’s 10th anniversary](http://time.com/4932428/iphone-new-changes/ "undefined"). The announcement came with a few surprises, including the decision to skip over the “S” model upgrade by going from the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. However, the biggest unveiling came when Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced the [iPhone X](http://time.com/4938527/iphone-x-hands-on/ "undefined"). And the name left some people wondering: How do you pronounce the “X” in iPhone X? Apple intends the “X” to be the Roman numeral for 10, meaning the model name is pronounced as if you were saying the “iPhone 10.” The X marks the 10th anniversary since the first iPhone came out in 2007. Apple made sure it the special edition iPhone stood out. The iPhone X broke with 10 years of design by including an edge-to-edge screen, which eliminated the home button. It also comes with [facial recognition](http://time.com/4938362/iphone-x-evil-twin-memes/ "undefined"), an upgraded camera, a “super” retina screen and better battery life. This isn’t the first time Apple faced some confusion over pronunciation. There were some similar questions back in 2001 when Apple released Mac OS X — which is also pronounced as “10.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4939318/how-to-pronounce-iphone-x/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4939318/how-to-pronounce-iphone-x/"},"headline":"This Is How to Pronounce the iPhone X","datePublished":"2017-09-13T15:07:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:51:25.163Z","description":"Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone left many with a question","url":"https://time.com/4939318/how-to-pronounce-iphone-x/","keywords":["Tech","Apple","Smartphones","iPhone","onetime","iPhone 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5449e0f5ffddbc7e/6988dd9297cdff19356b26ba/gettyimages-846247196.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5449e0f5ffddbc7e/6988dd9297cdff19356b26ba/gettyimages-846247196.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"how to pronounce iphone x","caption":"Apple Holds Product Launch Event In Cupertino","creditText":"Photograph by Qi Heng—VCG/Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4939318/how-to-pronounce-iphone-x/","name":"This Is How to Pronounce the iPhone X"}}]}] ```