There are several theories on why Apple skipped iPhone 9.
And Apple has never supported or rejected any theory.
But experts say some of these theories directionally explain why there is no iPhone 9.
To begin with, iPhone X (Roman numeral for 10) was launched on iPhone’s 10th anniversary.
iPhone 2G (known as the original iPhone) was launched in June 2007.
In Sep 2017, Apple launched iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
And these models still had the home button, and they were considered unexciting upgrades over iPhone 7.
On the other hand, when iPhone X was launched in Nov 2017, it was promoted as a significant upgrade — it was the first ‘all-screen-and-no-home-button’ phone from Apple.
So skipping 9 was an indication of a non-linear (major) upgrade.
It is common for tech companies to skip numbers to indicate major upgrades.
E.g. in 2015, Microsoft advanced to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1 to communicate a change bigger than a single generation.
Samsung also launched Galaxy S20 straight after the S11, seemingly for the same reason.
Also, iPhone 10 on iPhone’s 10th anniversary had a nice ring that created good marketing opportunities for the company.
