Started as a highly confidential ‘project purple’ in 2004, the first iPhone was in the making under the supervision of Steve Jobs. In the MacWorld Convention of January 2007, Steve Jobs revealed the first iPhone which was named the ‘iPhone’ and it has evolved to become the world’s most successful mobile phone series. Let’s look at how the iPhones have evolved over this time.
iPhone
The first iPhone in the series, this was released at a price of $499 and $599 for its 4GB and 8GB models. With a diagonal screen size of 3.5 inches and a camera specification of just 2 megapixels, it was considered a revolutionary mobile phone, both in terms of design and software(iOS).
At its initial release, it was available in US, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Spain, Italy and South Africa.
On September 5, 2007, the 4GB model was discontinued, and the 8GB model price was cut by a third, from US$599 to US$399. Apple had provided compensation to some of the users who had ended up paying more for the same model, thus.
iPhone 3G
Released in July 2008, this version had inbuilt GPS and expanded storage sizes. It was made available for $199 and $299 for its 8GB and 16GB models respectively.
The battery capacity had reduced from 1400 mAh of the previous version to 1150 mAh in this one. What was new in this model was that it was 3G enabled which made it sustainable for another decade.
iPhone 3GS
This was released in June 2009 and was twice as fast as its predecessor. Coming in 8, 16 and 32 GB variants, this was a superfast iPhone. It came with a battery percent indicator for the first time and had an upgrade in camera by a megapixel, making it a 3MP camera iPhone.
With features such as video recording and digital compass, this iOS 3 iPhone was received well by the public.
iPhone 4
This was a time when iPhones had gained worldwide traction and had started releasing all around the world. This $199 iPhone was released in India as well, alongside the rest of the world.
This was the first iPhone with an LED flashlight and a gyroscope, the gravity sensor which would enable games like temple run to be played by tilting the phone.
This glass back, stainless steel framed beauty came with Gorilla Glass which increased the durability of the iPhone screen.
iPhone 4s
Consistently releasing iPhones at $199, Apple surpassed every quality ceiling by introducing iPhone 4s. This one had a, 8 MP camera and came with iOS 5. This was announced a day before Steve Jobs’s death.
Released in 2011, iPhone 4s had a powerful A5 chipset, a dual core processor and a front VGA camera better than its predecessor where the front camera was first seen in the iPhone series. This enabled a better quality of video calling.
iPhone 5
Launching in 2012, this was a super hit. Coming in $199, $299 and $399 models, this one had a larger screen and better resolution.
This came with a 1.2 MP selfie camera which supported 720p@30fps video recording. The 1440 mAh battery iPhone 5 was way ahead of its time, as it had enabled LTE as well.
iPhone 5c and 5s
The millennials remember the iPhone 5c as the colourful plastic-bodied iPhone which had Rill Rill by by Sleigh Bells playing in its TV commercial. It was considered as a reskinned iPhone 5 and did not have much feature updates.
However iPhone 5s was a huge step up. It was faster, more powerful and had the fingerprint unlock(Touch ID) and a feeble slowmo feature for the first time. This 4 inch iPhone had 1560 mAh battery and came in Space Gray, White/Silver, Gold editions. The year 2013 was overwhelming for the apple audience with the release of these 2 iPhones.
iPhone 6/ 6 Plus
The thinnest iPhone ever, iPhone 6 also had a huge 4.7 inch screen. This was released alongside iPhone 6 Plus in 2014.
iPhone 6 plus had a massive battery upgrade from 1810 mAh of its predecessor to 2915 mAh in itself. This 5.5” iPhone contained the apple’s A8 chipset and was made ready for the upcoming era of heavy mobile games.
iPhone SE
This was released after iPhone 6S and 6S Plus and was a compact iPhone. Coming with a 4 inch display, this had most of the advance software features that Apple could provide, along with a touch ID and was an affordable one.
Further, more recent, editions of the iPhone
Post iPhone SE, Apple went with full force in releasing the later models, just 6 months later, in September 2016, it came out with iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Then began an era of new iPhone releases every year. This was also a time when memes such as Kidney for Apple iPhones started surfacing on the internet. The subsequent models have focused on processing speed, as the era of mobile phone gaming and Artificial Intelligence oriented heavy mobile applications started taking over mobile phone manufacturers.
Newer models such as the iPhone X came with mounting prices but were still in heavy demand at the time of their release. Features like Face ID, water resistance, 4k Video and ultra wide lenses have emerged in the later versions. The latest iPhone was iPhone 12 Pro Max which came with 5G connectivity and state of the art features at both, software and hardware levels.
The world is eyeing what Apple has for its users this time, with the new iPhone 13. What is sure is that the excitement amongst the Apple users would be as high as it always has been and the new iPhone will find its way in the league of top smartphones this year.
