- History of the iPhone
- Welcome
- The first iPhone
- Opening of the App Store
- iPhone 3G
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4
- 10 billion app downloads
- Tim Cook named CEO of Apple
- iPhone 4s
- Steve Jobs passes away
- iPhone 5
- Sir Jony Ive takes over Apple interface design
- 50 billion app downloads
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 5c
- iOS 7 goes flat
- iPhone 6 & 6 Plus
- Apple Pay
- 100 billion app download
- iPhone 6s & 6s Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 7
- Airpods
- What does the future hold?
History of the iPhone
Scroll down to start our journey through Apple history…
January 9, 2007
Macworld Conference and Expo, San Francisco
The first iPhone is announced
- Share price: $92.57
- Market cap: $79.63B
“Apple reinvents the phone.”
Steve Jobs took to the stage to reveal its first iPhone, which combines a mobile phone, widescreen iPod and internet communications device into a single touchscreen handset. Unsurprisingly, the audience went wild.
July 10, 2008
Opening of the App Store
At launch you could download 552 apps, 135 of which were free. In its first weekend, over 10 million apps were downloaded from the App Store. The first big hit was Sega’s Super Monkey Ball, which was downloaded over 300,000 times in the first month.
June 9, 2008
WWDC 2008 at Moscone Center, San Francisco
iPhone 3G announced
- Share price: $181.61
- Market cap: $160.11B
- iPhones sold to date: 5,407,000
“The iPhone you have been waiting for.”
Although the camera and processor remain unchanged from the original phone, the iPhone 3G added 3G connectivity for speedy web browsing as well as GPS.
June 8, 2009
WWDC 2009 at Moscone Center, San Francisco
iPhone 3GS announced
- Share price: $143.85
- Market cap: $128.33B
- iPhones sold to date: 21,172,000
“The fastest, most powerful iPhone yet.”
Despite looking almost identical to the iPhone 3G, the 3GS improved greatly on the specs, with an all-new 600MHz processor, a whopping 256MB of RAM and 32GB of storage space. The 3-megapixel camera could also shoot video for the first time.
June 10, 2010
WWDC 2010 at Moscone Center, San Francisco
iPhone 4 announced
- Share price: $250.51
- Market cap: $227.95B
- iPhones sold to date: 51,236,000
“This changes everything. Again.”
At last we had Apple’s Retina display, packing a meaty 326 pixels into every square inch of the screen. The iPhone 4 also introduced a VGA front-facing camera alongside the improved 5-megapixel rear snapper. And then there’s that gorgeous, skinny stainless steel frame…
iPhone 4
- Released: June 24, 2010
- Screen size: 3.5″
- Resolution: 960×640 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
- Camera: Rear – 3.0 MP, Front – 0.3 MP
- Colours: Black, White
- Operating System: iOS 4
iPhone 4 is here at last – and it’s packing an improved camera, new design, HD-video shooting, video calling and much more.
10 billion app downloads
22 January, 2011
The 10 billionth app downloaded was Paper Glider Thing by Space Inch, LLC, which was downloaded by Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK, who received a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card to commemorate this historic milestone.
In the time you have been reading this Apple have sold 0 iPhones and generated $0*
August 24, 2011
Steve Jobs’ declining health due to pancreatic cancer forces him to stand down as Apple CEO, naming Tim Cook as his successor. Cook had already served as acting CEO earlier in the year while Jobs received treatment.
– Steve Jobs
October 4, 2011
Apple’s Cupertino campus
iPhone 4s announced
- Share price: $372.5
- Market cap: $346.16B
- iPhones sold to date: 128,956,000
“The most amazing iPhone yet.”
Siri is born, providing a hands-free means of controlling your mobile – as long as you aren’t Scottish or anything. Meanwhile the iPhone’s camera jumps up to an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording.
iPhone 4S
- Released: October 14, 2011
- Screen size: 3.5″
- Resolution: 960×640 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
- Camera: Rear – 8.0 MP, Front – 0.3 MP
- Colours: Black, White
- Operating System: iOS 5
The iPhone 4S is Apple’s best phone to date, with a better camera and faster processor. iCloud and Siri could be revolutionary
October 5, 2011
Steve Jobs dies, one day after the launch of the iPhone 4s.
– Steve Jobs
September 12, 2012
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
iPhone 5 announced
- Share price: $669.79
- Market cap: $627.87B
- iPhones sold to date: 244,165,000
“The biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone”
The iPhone 5 was a milestone device, rocking the first 4-inch iPhone screen. It was also the first Apple phone to pack the Lightning connector.
iPhone 5
- Released: September 14, 2012
- Screen size: 4″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 640×1136 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
- Camera: Rear – 8.0 MP, Front – 1.2 MP
- Colours: Black & Slate, White & Silver
- Operating System: iOS 6
The 2012 iPhone is here, with a new A6 chip, a larger 4-inch display and iOS 6 featuring Passbook and FaceTime over mobile data.
October 2012
Jony Ive becomes the lead designer for iPhone’s software as well as hardware. Ive’s new position follows the departure of Scott Forstall, who allegedly clashed with Ive on the design of existing Apple apps.
50 billion app downloads
May 16, 2013
The 50 billionth app downloaded was Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC, which was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio who received a $10,000 App Store Gift Card to commemorate this historic milestone.
September 10, 2013
Apple HQ, Cupertino
iPhone 5S & 5C
- Share price: $494.64
- Market cap: $449.38B
- iPhones sold to date: 387,535,000
“Forward thinking.”
The iPhone 5s introduced Apple’s fingerprint sensor, known as Touch ID. A collective sigh of relief swept across the world from anyone who sucks at remembering passwords.
iPhone 5s
- Released: September 20, 2013
- Screen size: 4″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 640×1136 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
- Camera: Rear – 8.0 MP, Front – 0.3 MP
- Colours: Space Grey, Silver, Gold
- Operating System: iOS 7
The iPhone 5S has landed in three shades, packing an improved camera experience, a 64-bit processor, not to mention a fingerprint scanner.
In the time you have been reading this Apple have sold 0 iPhones and generated $0*
“For the colourful.”
For the first time, Apple launched two iPhones side-by-side. The iPhone 5c was a more ‘fun’ polycarbonate model, coming in blue, green, yellow, white and – of course – a sexy pink. However, despite losing Touch ID and sporting an older A6 processor, the iPhone 5c wasn’t quite as affordable as previously hoped.
iPhone 5c
- Released: September 20, 2013
- Screen size: 4″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 640×1136 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 8GB
- Camera: Rear – 8.0 MP, Front – 0.3 MP
- Colours: Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink, White
- Operating System: iOS 7
Apple’s colourful new iPhone plays second fiddle to the more powerful 5S, but might be for those who want a more distinctive iOS handset.
Death of skeuomorphism
Ive was apparently not a fan of Forstall’s skeuomorphic design, actually wincing in an interview with The Telegraph when asked about the leather stitching effect on Apple’s Calendar app. With iOS 7, the old look was stripped away and replaced with a sleek, flat interface, boasting all-new typography and icons as well as gyroscope-operated parallax desktops.
September 9, 2014
Flint Center for Performing Arts, Cupertino
iPhone 6 & 6 Plus
- Share price: $97.99 (stock split in June 2014)
- Market cap: $586.75B
- iPhones sold to date: 551,279,000
“The two and only”
After months of speculation, Apple finally revealed its all-new super-sized iPhones. Using the slogan ‘bigger than bigger’, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sported 4.7 and 5.5-inch screens respectively.
iPhone 6
- Released: September 19, 2014
- Screen size: 4.7″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 750×1334 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
- Camera: Rear – 8.0 MP, Front – 1.2 MP
- Colours: Silver, Gold, Space Grey
- Operating System: iOS 8
Does the hotly anticipated iPhone 6 live up to all the hype? With its elegant design, Retina HD Display and new iSight camera it just might.
iPhone 6 Plus
- Released: September 19, 2014
- Screen size: 5.5″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 1080×1920 at 401 ppi
- Storage: 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
- Camera: Rear – 8.0 MP, Front – 1.2 MP
- Colours: Silver, Gold, Space Grey
- Operating System: iOS 8
Big, beautiful and bloody brilliant, the iPhone 6 Plus is unquestionably one of the best phablets on the market.
Apple Pay
Released: October 20, 2014 in the US, July 14, 2015 in the UK
Apple’s contactless payment solution was launched in the US in October 2014 but didn’t hit the UK until July 2015. At launch, it could be used in dozens of franchises including McDonald’s, Nando’s, Subway and Starbucks.
Further reading: Apple Pay in the UK: All you need to know
8 June, 2015
In 2015 the App Store has 1.5 million apps and has amassed over 100 billion app downloads
September 9, 2015
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
iPhone 6s & 6s Plus
- Share price: $110.15
- Market cap: $628.15B
- iPhones sold to date: 773,006,000
“The Only Thing That’s Changed is Everything.”
Bigger, stronger and faster, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus took centre stage in September 2015. They were the first Apple handsets to feature 3D Touch, a new feature that brought a new level of interactivity to their iPhone experience. Now iPhones utilise multi touch gestures and you can preview web pages and apps before opening them.
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus also brought Live Photos, a new way of bringing your still images to life.
iPhone 6s
- Released: September 25, 2015
- Screen size: 4.7″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 750×1334 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
- Camera: Rear – 12.0 MP, Front – 5 MP
- Colours: Silver, Gold, Space Grey, Rose Gold
- Operating System: iOS 9
Faster and stronger plus a killer pair of cameras.
March 21, 2016
Apple’s Cupertino headquarters
iPhone SE
- Share price: $105.91
- Market cap: $587.23B
- iPhones sold to date: 895,831,000
“A big step for small”
Apple calls the iPhone SE the “small phone that lives large” and it is tough to disagree. The iPhone SE featured the powerful A9 chip, 12-megapixel iSight camera that shoots 4K video and M9 motion co-processor all in the beloved 5s design.
September 7, 2016
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
iPhone 7 & 7 Plus
- Share price: $108.36
- Market cap: $584B
“This is 7”
The iPhone 7 is exactly what an iPhone should be. Sleek, powerful and at the same time familiar, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus dramatically improve on core aspects of the iPhone experience.
The iPhone 7 has the longest battery life ever on an iPhone, a new pressure sensitive Home button and an improved retina display. It’s the first iPhone to meet the IP7 standard for water resistance.
iPhone 7
- Released: September 16, 2016
- Screen size: 4.7″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 750×1334 at 326 ppi
- Storage: 32GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Camera: Rear – 12.0 MP, Front – 7 MP
- Colours: Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, Black, Jet Black
- Operating System: iOS 10
iPhone 7 Plus
- Released: September 16, 2016
- Screen size: 5.5″ Retina HD
- Resolution: 1080×1920 at 401 ppi
- Storage: 32GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Camera: Rear – 12.0 MP, Front – 7 MP
- Colours: Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, Black, Jet Black
- Operating System: iOS 9
Apple says goodbye to the headphone jack
September 7, 2016
In a decision Apple executive Greg Joswiak described as “brave”, Apple finally said goodbye to the 3.5mm headphone jack. The 3.5mm headphone port has been a mainstay of tech for 50 years, so Apple decided that it’s time for something new, audio via Lightning.
- Retinal scanning
- Better camera lens
- Force touch
- Button-less design
- Curved display
- DNA locking of phones
- Waterproof components
- Flexible iPhone
- 4K screen
- More sizes
- Face recognition
- More megapixels
- 3D photos
- Touch ID display
- Transparent phone
- Joystick button
- iPhone Nano
- Interchangeable camera lens
What does the future hold?
In the time you have been reading this Apple have sold 0 iPhones and generated $0*
*Figures approx based on Apple Inc. Annual report 2014