The iPhone: Apple’s smartest move celebrates its 10th anniversary
It was on January 9, 2007, that late Apple founder and chief executive Steve Jobs went on stage at the company’s Macworld event to announce the tech giant was to reveal “an iPod, a phone and an internet communicator”, but rather than three separate products being revealed, one of the first truly smart phones was unveiled.
Since then, Apple has sold more than 1bn iPhones and has become one of the wealthiest companies ever.
However, increasing pressure from competitors and the smartphone market beginning to reach saturation point has created new pressures; 2016 has seen sales of the iPhone drop for the first time in the device’s history.
Pressure from the likes of Samsung, Google, HTC, and Huawei has squeezed the popularity of the iPhone, as has the increase in higher-quality budget and mid-range devices that undercut the iPhone and others on price.
Since the initial announcement in 2007, Apple has introduced 11 new generations of iPhone, drastically redesigning the device on several occasions, as well as altering the screen size and introducing an overall larger version of the phone with the iPhone 6 Plus in 2014, the first iPhone to feature a screen over 5in.
The iPhone also sparked the creation of the App Store, which launched in 2008 and has since been at the heart of the creation of a large number of hugely successful mobile app businesses, including the likes of Angry Birds, Uber and Deliveroo.
Such has been the success of the iPhone that, as an individual business, the revenue generated by the device alone has exceeded that of some of its rivals, including Microsoft and Google.
Analysts have referred to the iPhone as a cultural icon and most modern smartphones have been inspired by the iPhone in some form.
The next version of the iPhone, which is expected to be unveiled in September, has already been rumoured to feature a larger screen that covers the majority of the front of the device.
A new way of using a computer: The screen keyboard meant people had to learn to swipe their telephones instead of hitting a physical keyboard. Predictive-text, spell-check plus cutting and pasting were introduced. It helped trigger a new trend for touchscreen products.
The App Store: This simple way to buy and download an array of applications was introduced in 2008 and meant people could tailor the iPhone to their own needs. It created a new focus for software developers, who looked to create for mobile devices rather than programmes for Windows desktop and laptop computers.
Siri: Apple describes Siri as “the intelligent personal assistant that helps you get things done”. Sending messages, placing calls and checking the calendar are among the tasks Siri can do once the voice-recognition technology is mastered. Users learned to speak commands and questions instead of of tapping them in on the screen.
The 64-bit A7 processor: Apple was the first company to get a powerful 64-bit processor into a smartphone. Rivals branded it a gimmick, while Apple claimed the processor was of “desktop-grade”.
Apple had put its developers at the forefront of the long-term challenge to boost performance, even though having smartphones with 4GB of RAM was still a distant reality when this processor was introduced.
Touch ID: A fingerprint can be used to unlock Apple’s iPhone and iPad. The iPhone 5 was the first device to feature the fingerprint scanner.
3D Touch: This pressure-sensitive technology, unveiled in 2015, was aimed at allowing users to call up different functions by pressing screens firmly.
Apple said it “transformed” the experience of using the telephone, making it easier to use and switch between apps. It could be pressed into action to preview an email or photograph, swap weapons in a video game, and switch into selfie photograph mode.
Reviving an industry: The past decade has seen new developments in mobile operating systems, the production of touchscreen smartphones and tablets. Technology analyst Ian Fogg said: “10 years ago when people brought out consumer computing devices or home appliances, if they connected to any device at all it had to be connected to a PC... but now everyone is connected to an iPhone. The telephone is essential to everything now.”
Boosting other industries: The iPhone opened up doors for other types of businesses, such as Uber and Rovio, which makes the Angry Birds game.
The supply-chain comes under the spotlight: With the iPhone helping to drive Apple’s power in the world of technology, there came greater scrutiny and high-profile activism over how electronics are made.
Campaigners criticised the Foxconn plants in China that produce Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and other products over poor working conditions, long hours, and low wages.
Apple has banned the use of bonded labour in its factories. This saw new workers charged a fee — sometimes equivalent to a month’s salary or more — for being introduced to a factory. It meant many employees began work in debt, according to a BBC report.
Not all developments since the age of the smartphone and 24-hour internet have been welcomed, according to a new survey by technology company Pitney Bowes.
The worst types of technology-related rudeness is being disturbed by someone talking on a phone in public or seeing someone check texts during a business lunch. This frustrated 71% and 63%, respectively, of those questioned.
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