Dell mocked its own press launch for copying Apple’s names

Dell was mocked at its own press launch for copying Apple’s iPhone naming convention for its PCs. Laptops and desktops are now divided into three tiers, whose names are taken directly from the iPhone line: Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max.

Although it claims to have done this purely for the sake of simplicity and not to copy Apple, Dell has actually managed to make its PC line even less understandable than before…

Bloomberg reports that Dell is dropping its own sub-brands, like XPS and Inspiron, in favor of the new naming convention.

From now on, most of the company’s new PCs will be divided into three tiers: Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max (…)

“Customers really prefer names that are easy to remember and pronounce,” said Jeff Clarke, chief operating officer, during a briefing with reporters before the show. Buyers shouldn’t have to spend time “figuring out our nomenclature, which is sometimes a little confusing,” he said.

If Dell hoped that no one would notice the origin of these names, he was disappointed.

“I wonder why you didn’t choose something original, because you basically have the Apple brand here,” one audience member joked. Another said: “Your branding is a lot like Apple – don’t you just follow them?

The new tiers don’t even make things easier for buyers, because all three the tiers are subdivided into Base, Plus and Premium variants. Is a Pro Plus better than a Pro Max Base? How about a Pro Premium versus a Pro Max Plus?

Engadget notes that things turn into a complete farce when Dell also adds size labels for its desktops.

Just try reading the names Dell Pro Max Micro and Dell Pro Max Mini without your brain self-destructing (…) And yes, you can expect these machines to have their own plus and premium sub-brand.

So yes, there really will be a Dell Pro Max Micro Plus.

This is worse than Apple’s Mac model names in the 1990s (Macintosh IIvx, Macintosh Centris/Quadra 610, PowerBook Duo 280c, etc.) before Steve came back and tore them all apart.

Photo: Dell