Ken Segall:

Did I mention how much I loathe this naming scheme?

From a marketing standpoint, Apple has simply been shooting itself in the foot every other year, muting expectations by putting an S on the box.

Even when an S model introduces a breakthrough feature, it comes in the context of “this is an off-year.” I’m trying to think of any marketer who has ever chosen such a course before, but I’m coming up blank.

Segall thinks more about this stuff than I do (and knows a hell of a lot more about it) so it doesn’t bother me nearly as much but he makes a good point. The S models always have had the perception of being “not as good”.