It makes sense for software release versions, but I think this lacks marketing prowess.

Consider; “hey man check out my new M1 machine!” Versus: “hey man check out my M1 2021.04”

Even with the Core series it’s short and sweet.

“10th gen. Core i7” still sounds futuristic and always will.

Ryzen 7 also.

Honestly I think folks here are overthinking this stuff. It’s easy enough to compare the specs on a 10th gen cpu vs 8th gen. I think that’s easier than comparing different product names.

For instance, just by the names: Pentium 5 versus Core i5 it’s not quite clear unless folks were old enough to remember Pentiums. Whereas, everyone knows current generation has better processing than previous generation.

> Versus: “hey man check out my M1 2021.04”

Noone would ever say it like that. They would simply say: “hey man check out my new M1 machine!” And if it happened to come at a generation shift the context would make it obvious if it was the old generation at a bargain or the brand new generation. (or that the person saying it couldn't care less about specs and generations)

Now if you would buy a used computer, or would like to compare your current i7 to the latest i7 - then you would take notice. How much difference is there between a i5 2021.04 vs. i7 2016.8 ?

That is dead simple to google and reason about.

Compare that to: So what computer do you have? Oh, it is an i7 with 16 GB of RAM. I have no idea what decade that machine is from. And noone remembers the specific version, and if they do I have no idea how to parse it anyway.

Speaking of Ryzen, I see everyone attacking Intel for their naming especially now that the generation is 2 digits, but AMD's situation is a mess too. The Ryzen 7 5800x is built on Zen 3 architecture. I know the numbering scheme and still sometimes mix up the generation of processor with the generation of architecture.

Also, given that AMD copied Intel's 3/5/7/9 numbering, I'll be interested to see if in a few years they're selling a 10800x.

Because approximately no one in the whole supply chain wants to be stuck with a part dated last year.

And product lines are speced 12 months in advance.

So you need precise demand prediction all the way along your supply chain for this to work.

Who's ever going to use the full date in the marketing material?

Apple never says iPad 2019 on their website, until you start digging really hard.

Exactly. This proves the point I'm making. No one - even Apple with the best supply chain management in the industry - wants the version scheme you suggest.

Vendors want version numbers to push upgrades to consumers. They don't want to deal with demand forcasting for something with a limited time of life though.

Ummm... nice turning of my point on its head.

Nobody said that they have to make that versioning public and shout it from the rooftops.

Users do use the informal versioning that I mentioned, because otherwise they wouldn't be able to differentiate the products. I've heard "MacBook Pro 2015" a million times.

And a date <<is>> a version number. It also nicely auto-increments to prove to your customers that the latest thing is better than the old one.

Doodad Pro, 2021 edition. It's not that hard, as I was saying.

The alternative is the garbage that everyone is doing. WH-1000XM3, really?!?

Cars do this. BWM 3-series or WV Golf has existed with that same name since forever, despite getting smaller or generational upgrades every year. Enthusiasts refer to them by model year. Of course you also have the engine size as the final variable.

Nah. BMW used to have sane numbering, as did Mercedes. Nowadays its all made up bullshit. 28i? you might thing straight six 2.8 Liter, well its a 2.0 Turbo. M550d? 3 Liter. Merc E63? 6.2 Liter. Dont even get me started on Porshes non-turbo/electric Turbos, or Mercedes 4 door "coupes".