Ten years ago today Steve Jobs introduced the very first iPhone. He described it as three devices in one: “A widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device.” But since its first unveiling, the iPhone has become much more than that. It’s a symbol of the tech industry, of the modern era as a whole, and has made Apple the largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization, with some even speculating it’s the most profitable product ever. A decade on, and it’s still making headlines. Let’s take a look at how the iPhone has changed over the years:
iPhone (2007)
This is the iPhone as it first appeared in 2007, laying the foundation for the modern smartphone. It introduced the classic grid-of-icons layout, the single home button, and dropped a physical keyboard in favor of a multi-touch display. It was ready for the internet and consuming media, but it still lacked a number of key features — including 3G connectivity and the App Store.
iPhone 3G (2008)
The next iPhone launched in 2008 with that missing piece of the puzzle: the App Store. This gave developers the chance to build their own applications, and increased the iPhone’s value as useful apps and games populated its digital shopfront. The iPhone 3G also had 3G data, as well as push email and GPS navigation.
iPhone 3GS (2009)
The first “S” model iPhone offered iterative improvements rather than big new features. Apple said it was twice as fast as its predecessor, with the “S” standing for speed. It retained the same basic shape as earlier models, including a 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 display. Oh, and users finally got the option to copy and paste text.