January 9, 2007 was the day chosen by Steve Jobs to present the first iPhone , during the Macworld Expo developer conference. 15 years ago that Apple coined the modern concept of smartphone, which has since evolved, but maintains many elements that defined it.
The original iPhone of 2007 made three key contributions: the capacitive touch screen (which responds to the fingers) as a way of interaction, the connection to the Internet from a mobile device and the use of a complete operating system , as opposed to the simple interfaces of the iPhones. earlier mobiles.
One much-touted aspect at the time was that the iPhone was the next evolution of the iPod , Apple’s popular MP3 player. In fact, it inherited the same port for charging and data transfer, and also synced with iTunes.
At the hardware level, the 2007 iPhone had a 3.5-inch touch screen, which was huge for its time , with 480 x 320 px, and was surprising for being able to use it with your fingers, without the need to use a touch pen (stylus). ).
At the hardware level, it offered a very high power for the time, although with notable shortcomings, since 3G was already common, and Apple excluded it. It was also very striking that the orientation of the screen changed automatically thanks to the accelerometer, something that was not usual at the time.
This is the data sheet of the original iPhone released in 2007:
- 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen with 480 x 320 px.
- Samsung ARM 1176 single core processor.
- 128MB of RAM.
- 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB of internal space (without MicroSD slot).
- Rear camera was 2 MP.
- 2G connectivity (no 3G).
Although third-party apps were also definitely pushed by the iPhone and its App Store, developers could only really start working on them more than a year later.
In the initial launch of June 2007, only the pre-installed apps could be used, some of which were very new for the time on a mobile: the Mail client, the Safari browser, or YouTube , which required Google to recode all the videos on the platform. so they could be viewed on the iPhone.
At first, Apple announced that the new iPhone used OS X , the same operating system as Macs. Although they had things in common, when the developers started working with it, it was renamed iPhone OS, as there were many differences. and after the launch of the iPad it was called iOS.
YouTube came pre-installed on the iPhone until iOS 6, since the Android rivalry came a little later , and at first Google did not compete in the smartphone segment.
The original iPhone was sold from $499 , initially exclusively with the US operator AT&T (in Spain Movistar would have the exclusive for a while). The temporary exclusivity was an advance of money for the development, without limiting Apple in any way, which did not accept that the operator pre-installed any app.
Expectations were high and the reception of the first iPhone was a complete success , catapulting Apple’s sales, making it an extremely profitable company and elevating Steve Jobs (died 2011) to the status of technology legend.
Today the iPhone is still Apple’s main source of income and, although it has diversified its business, in the end almost all the products and services it sells are heavily related to the iPhone.
Of course, the iPhone is stronger than ever after 15 years , its evolution is no longer so fast, although the future folding iPhone could be the next big turning point for the company with the bitten apple.
