What the ‘i’ in iPhone really stands for revealed and it might not be what you think

In a world constantly peppered by new shiny tech products, it's easy to get lost in it all and stop thinking about what any of it actually means.

While some of us may opt for an Android, the much more in-vogue mobile device is of course, the iPhone.

Coming in different sizes, colours, and with different kinds of cameras, a lot of us don't stop to think about what we're actually buying, instead focusing on whether or not we actually need the latest iPhone model.

One of the many products featuring the 'i' - an iPhone (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

So, it's likely you've never stopped to think about what the 'i' in Apple products actually mean - whether that's an iPhone, an iMac, or an iPad.

But it's always good to learn something new, isn't it? So without further ado...

When Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, announced the invention of the 1998 iMac in a speech, he revealed that it stands for 'internet', which makes a lot of sense, as his products were revolutionary in a time before accessing the internet was as simple as it is today.

But it's not all that simple, with some experts vouching that it actually meant more.

Paul Bischoff, Comparitech privacy advocate told Reader's Digest: "Steve Jobs said the ‘I’ stands for ‘internet, individual, instruct, inform, [and] inspire'.

“He also alluded to it referencing ‘I’ as a personal pronoun, and ‘instruction’ for education purposes.”

Steve Jobs co-founded Apple (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

As if that wasn't enough to take in, Bischoff then said the 'i' 'didn't technically have any official meaning'.

Ultimately, it seems like it's up to us to decide on which version of events we want to go with - but we know for sure that one interpretation was intended to be 'internet'.

Jobs passed away in 2011, after being diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour. He was born in San Francisco, and was adopted, and prior to co-founding Apple, studied Zen Buddhism.

During a commencement speech at Stanford, he famously said: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."