Apple has a huge decision to make about naming the iPhone

Apple might have to rethink how it names the iPhone.

For years, the company has been on a "tick-tock" schedule with each new iPhone release. Every other year you get a new design. The following year, you get the same design with some internal improvements and new software features. (Think iPhone 4, then 4s. iPhone 5, then 5s. iPhone 6, then 6s.)

This year we're on the "tick" cycle, so you'd expect Apple to call the next iPhone coming in September the iPhone 7. But the earliest rumors point to a fundamental, radical change for what should be the "tock" cycle in 2017, including a new design with a front that's just a giant display, better screen technology, and wireless charging.

If that's true, the phone that should be called the iPhone 7s won't look anything like this year's "iPhone 7." And that means Apple may have to rethink how it names its iPhones.

It sounds like Apple wants to go big for the iPhone's tenth birthday next year. That means a shift in the tick-tock design and naming cycle with a fresh, new iPhone. This year may be the year of the iPhone 7, but Apple could possibly skip ahead to the iPhone 8 in 2017. If it were up to me, I'd kill off the numbering altogether. The iPhone 7 will actually be the tenth model of the iPhone, after all. Confusing!

Then again, the tech world is horrible at naming things. Microsoft jumped from Windows 8 to Windows 10. Samsung is thinking about jumping from the Galaxy Note 5 to the Galaxy Note 7. The "Grand Theft Auto" series is all out of whack. You get the idea.

It'd be better to keep things simple: iPhone SE, iPhone, and iPhone Plus.