The History of the iPhone

What would it have been like to hold the first iPhone in your hand?

In 2007, Steve Jobs, founder of the mega-successful Apple Brand, announced at a Macworld conference that he had created the intersection of a computer, cell phone, and touch screen technology. He knew the precipice of success that him and his team were standing on, however, I don't think anyone could have ever estimated the public response to this brand new iPhone.

The Macworld Convention was in January. In June, the first generation iPhone went on sale. In its first year, it sold six million. This absolutely secured its legacy, and changed the understanding of modern, accessible technology.

The first iPhone fit in the palm of one's hand. It cost $499 for 4 GB of storage. For reference, in 2020, I own a 64 GB iPhone. What was so groundbreaking was the Multitouch technology; no other smartphone had been capable of such a thing. Every other touch screen technology was too sensitive or not sensitive enough-- Multitouch was a break through, allowing the user to tap anywhere on the screen to get desired results, however not responding to literally every point of pressure put on the phone. Apple, of course, patented this technology, and launched their iPhone as the first of its kind.

The impact of the iPhone is nearly incalculable--however, if you want to boil it down to the numbers, here they are:  since 2009, Apple has sold 1.5 billion iPhones; there are 100 million iPhone users in America, making up 45% of the total iPhone users. That means that despite the competitive marketplace and constant push for development and growth in the gadget industry, Apple supporters make up nearly half of the market. This is, of course, because the iPhone is the catalyst for the Google phone, the Windows phone, Androids, and iPads.

Because most of the population owns a smart phone, the internet has become 24/7 -- this is directly a result of the iPhone. Our entire culture has changed because of it. The concept of Apps grew out of the use of iPhones. Jobs that exist only on social media owe their beginnings to the iPhone. The line between work and home is blurred, as well as the line between public and private. Nothing is the same. Our news, our pop culture, and our lives have been permanently shaped by the computer we carry around in our pocket. And we owe it all to Apple.

For more information on how the iPhone changed our lives, check out this article on CNN.