Apple made history 10 years ago to this day on the stage at Macworld. The late, Steve Jobs, unveiled what he called “A widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device.” Since then the iPhone has become a cultural icon and has changed computing, if not the world.
The iPhone was originally announced on January 9th, 2007 but didn’t officially launch until June 29th, 2007. At the time it was the first true smartphone and the only one to get rid of the keyboard. 2007 was before Android and was a time when BlackBerry’s own the smartphone industry, something they quickly lost. The first generation iPhone featured a 3.5-inch display at 163 pixels per inch, had no 3G service, was a GSM-only device, and almost half an inch thick. A significant feature was the built-in accelerometer and a full touch screen display.
Since then the iPhone has grown in just 10 years, it has changed. Its first size increase was with the iPhone 5, which introduced the second row and the iPhone 6 brought the two size launch we have become used too. The changes did not just come on the hardware side, but the software has changed. The App Store wasn’t on the original iPhone, but it has been a shining star on every model since. You also didn’t have a camera on the original, but that is now a standout feature. In fact, the iPhone 7 Plus’s hallmark feature would be the dual lens camera on the back. Which features Portrait Mode, allowing you to take photos with a “bokeh” effect.
I for one am very eager to see what is coming next and how Apple continues to innovate. On the 10th anniversary, Tim Cook said “iPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started. The best is yet to come.”
