Dell rebranded all its PCs with names that should sound very familiar to Apple users. Going forward, the company’s computers will either be part of the Dell, Dell Pro or Dell Pro Max product lines.
That is, of course, exactly how Apple divides up the various iPhone versions. And the PC-maker immediately faced mockery for its new product names.
Dell Pro Max: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Back in 2019, the iPhone 11 series added Pro and Pro Max to the base product name as a way to indicate the two top-tier variants. Clearly, Dell thought the system was so good that it decided to borrow it.
It’s dropping long-held product names like XPS and Latitude, so buyers won’t be forced to figure out which one targets consumers and which one is for businesses. The company says its new categories are: “Dell (designed for play, school and work), Dell Pro (designed for professional-grade productivity) and Dell Pro Max (designed for maximum performance).”
“Customers really prefer names that are easy to remember and easy to pronounce,” said Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke, according to Bloomberg.
The mockery begins
Dell’s event at CES 2025 wasn’t even over before people pointed out that the company was obviously copying Apple. That seems to have made Clarke a bit defensive, and his best response was to argue that Apple doesn’t have a trademark on the words “Pro” or “Pro Max.”
He might have faced less criticism if the three product lines were Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Max. But it decided to go with Pro Max instead, directly copying Apple.
Dell will add the words “Plus” and “Premium” to some of the product names to further differentiate them… and potentially confuse shoppers. Dell Pro 13/14 Premium is one example.
The rebranding evokes old PC versus Mac fights over who stole what idea from whom. Apple’s PowerBook 100 was the first laptop with the basic configuration used by every PC maker today, for example. And Apple accused Microsoft in court of stealing the design of Windows from Mac OS.
Apple also played the “borrowing” name game when it appropriated “iPhone” from Cisco.
