Even though nothing has been officially announced about the iPhone 13 yet, there are already some possibilities. The new model should be available this fall, again in four models, and it is almost certain that the A15 chip will be included in the new device. But one thing is very much up in the air - what Apple plans to call the next iPhone.

Early rumors, of course, used iPhone 13 as the likely name for a 2021 release. After all, last fall Apple jumped all the way from iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models to iPhone 12. Logic dictates that it will happen again.

Recently, however, rumors about the new iPhones have begun calling the models by different names. Whether it is leaks that the next iPhone Pro model will feature an LTPO display or the return of Touch ID, more and more iPhone rumors are calling Apple's future device the iPhone 12s.

GizChina goes even further, with sources saying that Apple will release the iPhone 12s in the fall. Similarly, a prominent Apple leaker thinks the same about the next name for the iPhone.

If this is true, it would be a return to Apple's old phone naming practices prior to the iPhone 7. (Recall, in 2017, Apple went straight from iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.) At the time, Apple released the iPhone 6 in 2014 and a year later the "S" version like the iPhone 6s in 2015.

(Apple temporarily returned to this pattern in 2018 when it released the iPhone X followed by the iPhone XS. However, that year also saw the introduction of the iPhone XR, so the naming conventions were in disarray.)

There is another reason why Apple may want to delay the introduction of the iPhone 13 or skip the number altogether: there is an old superstition that the number 13 is unlucky. Considering that many skyscrapers don't have the 13th floor marked, one can imagine that Apple might follow suit.

Ultimately, there is no clear answer at this point as to what the new iPhone will be called and what it implies about Apple's update plans. As more rumors surface ahead of this fall's launch, the picture will become clearer.