Apple has just changed its product wording for the first time in 20 years

Apple has sneakily updated a tiny detail on one of its most recognizable products, changing the product wording for the first time in 20 years.

The update is so small that you could easily miss it unless you know exactly what you’re looking for.

But it marks a noticeable departure from a piece of Apple product design that has been around for decades.

And it gives one of the company’s most familiar accessories a surprisingly different look.

It’s hiding in a place most people never look

If you’ve ever turned over an Apple gadget, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a small line of text printed somewhere on the back.

For years, Apple has used the wording ‘Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China’ on its hardware, including products that have become some of the company’s biggest hits.

It’s the kind of detail most people probably never stop to read, but it’s been part of the Apple aesthetic for a very long time.

The wording even dates back to around the turn of the millennium.

Apple’s trademark records list December 31, 2000 as the first use of ‘Designed by Apple in California’ in commerce.

Apple later made the phrase even more iconic when it used ‘Designed by Apple in California’ as the title of a 2016 book documenting 20 years of its product design, covering everything from the 1998 iMac through to the 2015 Apple Pencil.

So when that tiny sentence starts disappearing, longtime Apple fans are likely to notice.

Apple has made the product wording much shorter

The change has now been spotted on the new AirPods 5 cases.

Rather than carrying the familiar ‘Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China’ inscription, the newer cases simply say ‘Apple • AirPods’.

That’s it.

The result is a much cleaner-looking charging case, with the tiny branding taking up considerably less space underneath the hinge.

It also removes the reference to China entirely, which is notable given how much Apple’s manufacturing network has expanded and changed over the years.

Apple has continued to use the ‘Designed by Apple in California’ product wording elsewhere, so this doesn’t mean the company has abandoned it altogether.

Instead, it appears to be a small product-level change that makes the AirPods case look a little more minimal.

A tiny change with a very Apple feel

There’s something particularly noticeable about this change because Apple has spent years making its products look as clean and uncluttered as possible.

The old inscription was one of the few places where the company allowed a relatively long sentence to sit directly on its hardware.

Now, the AirPods case has just the product name and Apple’s name, separated by a tiny dot.

It’s a microscopic change compared with the company’s bigger hardware updates, but it shows how even the smallest details can evolve after years of staying almost completely unchanged.

And if you’ve been using Apple products for the last couple of decades, there’s a good chance you’ll recognize exactly what is missing.

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, so RIP to the wordy AirPods case, you will be missed.