iPhone

The iPhone is a line of designed and marketed by All generations of the iPhone use Apple's mobile operating system software. The was released on June 29, 2007, and multiple new hardware iterations with new iOS releases have been released since.

The is built around the device's screen, including a . The iPhone has and can connect to . An iPhone can , , send and receive , , send and receive , record notes, perform mathematical calculations, and receive . also became a standard feature with the . Other functionality, such as video games, reference works, and social networking, can be enabled by downloading . As of January 2017, Apple's contained more than 2.2 million applications available for the iPhone.

Apple has released twelve of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the twelve major releases of the operating system. The was a phone and established design precedents, such as a button placement that has persisted throughout all releases and a screen size maintained for the next four iterations. The added with improved hardware, the with a metal chassis, higher display resolution, and front-facing camera, and the with improved hardware and the voice assistant . The featured a taller, 4 inches (100 mm) display and Apple's newly introduced . In 2013, Apple released the with improved hardware and a (marketed as 'Touch ID'), and the lower-cost , a version of the 5 with colored plastic casings instead of metal. They were followed by the larger , with models featuring 4.7-and-5.5-inch (120 and 140 mm) displays. The was introduced the following year, which featured hardware upgrades and support for , as well as the —which featured hardware from the 6S but the smaller form factor of the 5S. In 2016, Apple unveiled the , which add water resistance, improved system, and graphics performance, a new rear dual-camera setup on the Plus model, and new color options, while removing the 3.5 mm headphone jack found on previous models. The were released in 2017, adding a glass back and an improved screen and camera. The was released alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, with its highlights being a near bezel-less design, an improved camera, and a new facial recognition system, named , but having no home button, and therefore, no . In September 2018, Apple released 3 new iPhones, which are the , an upgraded version of the since discontinued iPhone X, , a larger variant with the series' biggest display as of 2018 and , a lower-end version of the iPhone X. On September 10, 2019, Apple again released 3 new iPhones, which are , , and the lower-end .

The first-generation iPhone was described as "revolutionary" and a "game-changer" for the mobile phone industry. Subsequent iterations of the iPhone have also garnered praise. The iPhone is one of the most widely used smartphones in the world, and its success has been credited with helping Apple become one of the world's .

As of November 1, 2018, more than 2.2 billion iPhones had been sold.[1]

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Development of what was to become the iPhone began in 2004, when Apple started to gather a team of 1,000 employees (including , the designer behind the iMac and iPod) Apple CEO steered the original focus away from a tablet (which Apple eventually revisited in the form of the ) towards a phone.) at the time—at an estimated development cost of US$150 million over thirty months.[18]

According to Steve Jobs, the "i" word in "iMac" (and therefore "iPod", "iPhone" and "iPad") stands for internet, individual, instruct, inform, and inspire.

Apple rejected the "" approach that had yielded the , a largely unsuccessful collaboration with . Among other deficiencies, the ROKR E1's firmware limited storage to only 100 songs to avoid competing with Apple's .

Cingular gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house and even paid Apple a fraction of its monthly service revenue (until the iPhone 3G),

Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the 2007 convention at the in San Francisco. The passionate reaction to the launch of the iPhone resulted in sections of the media dubbing it the 'Jesus phone'. Following this successful release in the US, the first generation iPhone was made available in the UK, France, and Germany in November 2007, and Ireland and Austria in the spring of 2008.

  iPhone available since its original release

  iPhone available since the release of iPhone 3G

  Coming soon

On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the original six. Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8, 2009, along with plans to release it later in June, July, and August, starting with the US, Canada and major European countries on June 19. Many would-be users objected to the iPhone's cost,

The back of the original first-generation iPhone was made of aluminum with a black plastic accent. The iPhone 3G and 3GS feature a full plastic back to increase the strength of the signal.[35] The iPhone 3G was available in an 8 GB black model, or a black or white option for the 16 GB model. The iPhone 3GS was available in both colors, regardless of storage capacity.

The iPhone 4 has an glass front and back with a edge that serves as the . It was at first available in black; the white version was announced, but not released until April 2011, 10 months later.

Users of the iPhone 4 reported dropped/disconnected telephone calls when holding their phones in a certain way. This became known as .[36]

On January 11, 2011, announced during a media event that it had reached an agreement with Apple and would begin selling a . Verizon said it would be available for pre-order on February 3, with a release set for February 10. In February 2011, the Verizon iPhone accounted for 4.5% of all iPhone in the U.S. on Millennial Media's mobile ad network.[39]

From 2007 to 2011, Apple spent $647 million on advertising for the iPhone in the US.[16]

On Tuesday, September 27, Apple sent invitations for a press event to be held October 4, 2011, at 10:00 am at the headquarters to announce details of the next generation iPhone, which turned out to be . Over 1 million 4S models were sold in the first 24 hours after its release in October 2011.. announced that it would be carrying the iPhone 4S on October 19, 2011.[42]

In January 2012, Apple reported its best quarterly earnings ever, with 53% of its revenue coming from the sale of 37 million iPhones, at an of nearly $660. The average selling price has remained fairly constant for most of the phone's lifespan, hovering between $622 and $660., in October 2011, to be $188, $207 and $245, for the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models, respectively.

In February 2012, reported that 12.4% of U.S. mobile subscribers used an iPhone.

On September 12, 2012, Apple announced the iPhone 5. It has a 4 inches (100 mm) display, up from its predecessors' 3.5 inches (89 mm) screen. The device comes with the same 326 pixels per inch found in the iPhone 4 and 4S. The iPhone 5 has the A6 processor, the chip is 22% smaller than the iPhone 4S' A5 and is twice as fast, doubling the graphics performance of its predecessor. The device is 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S, measuring 7.6 millimetres (0.3 in), and is 20% lighter at 112 grams (4 oz).

On July 6, 2013, it was reported that Apple was in talks with Korean mobile carrier to release the next generation iPhone with LTE Advanced technology.[47]

On July 22, 2013, the company's suppliers said that Apple is testing out larger screens for the iPhone and iPad. "Apple has asked for prototype smartphone screens larger than 4 inches (100 mm) and has also asked for screen designs for a new tablet device measuring slightly less than 13 inches (330 mm) diagonally, they said."[48]

On September 10, 2013, Apple unveiled two new iPhone models during a highly anticipated press event in Cupertino. The iPhone 5C, a mid-range-priced version of the handset that is designed to increase accessibility due to its price is available in five colors (green, blue, yellow, pink, and white) and is made of plastic. The iPhone 5S comes in three colors (black, white, and gold) and the home button is replaced with a fingerprint scanner (Touch ID). Both phones shipped on September 20, 2013.[49]

On September 9, 2014, Apple revealed the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus at an event in Cupertino. Both devices had a larger screen than their predecessor, at 4.7 inches (120 mm) and 5.5 inches (140 mm) respectively.[50]

In 2016, Apple unveiled the , which added water and dust resistance, improved system and graphics performance, a new dual-camera setup on the Plus model, new color options, and featured the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack from the iPhone.[51]

On September 12, 2017, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which features a new glass design, camera improvements, a True Tone display, wireless charging, and improved system performance. It also unveiled the iPhone X, which features a near bezel-less design, a facial recognition feature dubbed "Face ID" with facial tracking used for Animojis, an OLED screen with the highest pixel density on an iPhone, a new telephoto lens which works better in low light conditions, and improved cameras for AR.[52]

On September 12, 2018, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone XS, XS Max at the Steve Jobs theater at . The XS and XS Max feature an improved Super Retina Display with Dolby Vision and HDR10 support with the XS Max featuring a larger 6.5 inches (170 mm) display, improved cameras with , and the A12 Bionic chip. The iPhone XS and XS Max are water, liquid, and dust resistant which allow the devices to be submerged in up to 2 meters for a duration of 30 minutes, while iPhone XR retained the IP67 certification found in the first-generation iPhone X and also features an IPS LCD display instead of the OLED displays found in the higher-end models. The iPhone XS/XS Max's IP68 certifications were tested using various such as , saltwater, , , , and . Apple also announced the fourth generation of Apple Watch, the .

On September 10, 2019, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 11 at ,

Sales

Apple sold 6.1 million first generation iPhone units over five quarters.'s (RIM) sales of 5.2 million units, which briefly made Apple the third largest mobile phone manufacturer by revenue, after and 2010, a total of 73.5 million iPhones had been sold.[63]

By 2010, the iPhone had a market share of barely 4% of all cell phones; however, Apple pulled in more than 50% of the total profit that global cellphone sales generated.'s latest published estimate of 64% growth for the global smartphone market in the September quarter. Apple's sales surpassed that of 's 12.1 million units sold in their most recent quarter ended August 2010.

On March 2, 2011, at the launch event, Apple announced that they had sold 100 million iPhones worldwide., Apple became the largest mobile handset vendor in the world by revenue in 2011, surpassing long-time leader . proved more popular than the iPhone 4S in parts of Europe, the iPhone 4S was dominant in the United States.[68]

In January 2012, Apple reported its best quarterly earnings ever, with 53% of its revenue coming from the sale of 37 million iPhones, at an of nearly $660. The average selling price has remained fairly constant for most of the phone's lifespan, hovering between $622 and $660.[43]

For the eight largest phone manufacturers in Q1 2012, according to at Asymco, Apple and Samsung combined to take 99% of industry profits (HTC took the remaining 1%, while RIM, LG, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and Nokia all suffered losses), with Apple earning 73 cents out of every dollar earned by the phone makers. As the industry profits grew from $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2010 to $14.4 billion in the first quarter of 2012 (quadruple the profits in 2007), Apple had managed to increase its share of these profits. This is due to increasing carrier subsidies and the high selling prices of the iPhone, which had a negative effect on the wireless carriers (AT&T Mobility, Verizon, and Sprint) who have seen their EBITDA service margins drop as they sold an increasing number of iPhones. from all of its businesses ($17.4 billion).[74]

In the fourth quarter of 2012, the and were the best-selling handsets with sales of 27.4 million (13% of smartphones worldwide) and 17.4 million units, respectively, with the in third with 15.4 million. According to Strategy Analytics' data, this was "an impressive performance, given the iPhone portfolio's premium pricing", adding that the Galaxy S III's global popularity "appears to have peaked" (the Galaxy S III was touted as an iPhone-killer by some in the press when it was released). While Samsung has led in worldwide sales of smartphones, Apple's iPhone line has still managed to top Samsung's smartphone offerings in the United States,

The continued top popularity of the iPhone despite growing Android competition was also attributed to Apple being able to deliver updates over the air, while updates are frequently impeded by carrier testing requirements and hardware tailoring, forcing consumers to purchase a new Android smartphone to get the latest version of that OS.

Apple announced on September 1, 2013, that its iPhone trade-in program would be implemented at all of its 250 specialty stores in the US. For the program to become available, customers must have a valid contract and must purchase a new phone, rather than simply receive a credit to be used at a later date. A significant part of the program's goal is to increase the number of customers who purchase iPhones at Apple stores rather than carrier stores.[81]

On September 20, 2013, the sales date of the iPhone 5S and 5C models, the longest ever queue was observed at the New York City flagship Apple store, in addition to prominent queues in San Francisco, and Canada; however, locations throughout the world were identified for the anticipation of corresponding consumers. Apple had decided to introduce a gold model after finding that gold was seen as a popular sign of a luxury product among customers.[84]

Apple released its opening weekend sales results for the 5C and 5S models, showing an all-time high for the product's sales figures, with nine million handsets sold—the previous record was set in 2012, when five million handsets were sold during the opening weekend of the 5 model. This was the first time that Apple has simultaneously launched two models and the inclusion of China in the list of markets contributed to the record sales result., 200 million devices were running the iOS 7 update, making it the "fastest software upgrade in history."[86]

An located at the in , claimed the highest iPhones sales figures in November 2013. The store's high sales results are due to the absence of a in the state of .[87]

The finalization of a deal between Apple and China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network, was announced in late December 2013. The multi-year agreement provides iPhone access to over 760 million China Mobile subscribers.[88]

In the first quarter of 2014, Apple reported that it had sold 51 million iPhones, an all-time quarterly record, compared to 47.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

iPhone Upgrade Program

The iPhone Upgrade Program is a 24-month program designed for consumers to be able to get the latest iPhone every year, without paying the whole price up-front. The program consists of "low monthly payments", where consumers will gradually pay for the iPhone they have over a 24-month period, with an opportunity to switch (upgrade) to the new iPhone after 12 months of payment have passed. Once 12 months have passed, consumers can trade their current iPhone with a new one, and the payments are transferred from the old device to the new device, and the program "restarts" with a new 24-month period.[91]

Additional features of the program include unlocked handsets, which means consumers are free to pick the network carrier they want, and two-year AppleCare+ protection, which includes "hardware repairs, software support, and coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage".

Criticism of the program includes the potential endless cycle of payments, with 's Damon Beres writing, "Complete the full 24-month payment cycle, and you're stuck with an outdated phone. Upgrade every 12 months, and you'll never stop owing Apple money for iPhones". Additionally, the program is limited to just the iPhone hardware; cell phone service from a network operator is not included.[93]

Legacy

Before the release of the iPhone, handset manufacturers such as and were enjoying record sales of based more on fashion and brand rather than technological innovation. and devices, was a "staid, corporate-led smartphone paradigm" focused on enterprise needs. Phones at the time were designed around carrier and business limits which were conservative with regards to bandwidth usage and battery life. Phones were sold in a very large number of models, often segmented by marketing strategy, confusing customers and sapping engineering resources. For example, phones marketed at business were often deliberately stripped of cameras or the ability to play music and games.[99] Apple's approach was to deliberately simplify its product line by offering just one model a year for all customers while making it an expensive, high-end product.

Apple's marketing, developing from the success of iPod campaigns, allowed the phone to become a mass-market product with many buyers on launch day. Some market research has found that, unusually for a technology product, iPhone users are disproportionately female. noted in 2012 that Apple had avoided 'patronizing' marketing to female customers, a practice used (often to sell low-quality, high-priced products) by many of its competitors.[101]

When then-CEO of pried open an iPhone, his impression was of a Mac stuffed into a cellphone, as it used much more memory and processing power than the smartphones on the market at the time. With its and consumer-friendly design, the iPhone fundamentally changed the mobile industry, with proclaiming in 2007, that the phone was not just a communication tool but a way of life.[102]

The dominant mobile operating systems at the time such as , , and were not designed to handle additional tasks beyond communication and basic functions. These operating systems never focused on applications and developers, and due to infighting among manufacturers as well as the complexity of developing on their low-memory hardware, they never developed a thriving ecosystem like Apple's or 's . (renamed iOS in 2010) was designed as a robust OS with capabilities such as multitasking and graphics in order to meet future consumer demands. had the unexpected benefit of allowing OS X developers to rapidly expand into iOS development. and , as well as Nokia. Nokia realised the limitations of its operating system Symbian and attempted to develop a more advanced system, Maemo, without success. It ultimately agreed to a technology-sharing deal and then a takeover from Microsoft.[106]

Prior to the iPhone, "Handsets were viewed largely as cheap, disposable lures, massively subsidized to snare subscribers and lock them into using the carriers' proprietary services." However, according to , "Apple retained complete control over the design, manufacturing, and marketing of the iPhone", meaning that it and not the carrier would control the software updates, and by extension security patches. By contrast, Google has allowed carriers and OEMs to dictate the "pace of upgrades and pre-load phones with their own software on top of ". As a result, many Android OEMs often lag months behind Google's release of the next iteration of Android; although Nexus and Pixel devices are guaranteed two years of operating system updates and a third additional year for security. However, Apple has supported older iterations of iPhones for over four years.[26]

Up to the , all iPhone models, as well as other were manufactured exclusively by , based in . In 2011, after became CEO of the company, Apple changed its outsourcing strategy, for the first time increasing its supply partners. The in 2012 was the first model which was manufactured simultaneously by two stand-alone companies: Foxconn as well as , also based in Taiwan. Although Foxconn is still responsible for the larger share of production, Pegatron's orders have been slowly increased, with the company being tasked with producing a part of the line in 2013, and 30% of the devices in 2014. The 6 Plus model is being produced solely by Foxconn.

Screen and input

The on the first five generations is a 3.5 inches (90 mm) with scratch-resistant glass, while the one on the is 4 inches (100 mm). is designed for a bare finger, or multiple fingers for sensing. The screens on the first three generations have a resolution of 320×480 () at 163 ; those on the and have a resolution of 640×960 at 326 ppi; the 4 inches (100 mm) models, with 640×1136 at 326 ppi; the 4.7 inches (120 mm) models, with 750×1334 at 326 ppi; the 5.5 inches (140 mm) models, with 1080×1920 at 401 ppi; and the 5.8 inches (150 mm) model X, with 1125×2436 at 458 ppi. The initial models were using . Starting with iPhone 4, the technology was changed to . The iPhone 5 model's screen results in an aspect ratio of approximately 16:9. The is the first iPhone to use an display. It has a near bezel-less screen with a ≈19.5:9 aspect ratio.[109]

The touch and gesture features of the iPhone are based on technology originally developed by . prevent the necessary electrical conductivity; although can be used with iPhone's finger-touch screen. The iPhone 3GS and later also feature a -resistant coating.[115]

The iPhone has a minimal hardware user interface, with most models featuring five . The only physical menu button is situated directly below the display and is called the "Home button" because its primary function is to close the active app and navigates to the home screen of the interface. Earlier models included a , reminiscent of the shape of icons on the home screen, however, new models which include Apple's feature (which use the Home button as the fingerprint sensor) have no symbol. The and later don't have a Home button but instead , a facial recognition authentication method.[116]

A multi-function sleep/wake button is located on the top of the device. It serves as the unit's power button, and also controls . When a call is received, pressing the sleep/wake button once silences the ringtone, and when pressed twice transfers the call to voicemail. Situated on the left spine are the volume adjustment controls. The iPhone 4 has two separate circular buttons to increase and decrease the volume; all earlier models house two switches under a single plastic panel, known as a rocker switch, which could reasonably be counted as either one or two buttons.

Directly above the volume controls is a ring/silent switch that when engaged mutes telephone ringing, alert sounds from new & sent emails, text messages, and other push notifications, camera shutter sounds, Voice Memo sound effects, phone lock/unlock sounds, keyboard clicks, and spoken auto-corrections. This switch does not mute alarm sounds from the Clock application, and in some countries or regions it will not mute the camera shutter or Voice Memo sound effects..

A software update in January 2008, hardware. Since the iPhone 3G generation, the iPhone employs operated by the United States. Since the iPhone 4S generation the device also supports the global positioning system, which is operated by Russia. Since the iPhone 8 it supports .[120]

The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, introduced in 2015, feature displays which allow the screen to recognize how hard it is being pressed using pressure-sensitive multi-touch technology. had this feature until 2019. 3D Touch was omitted on all 2019 iPhones in favor of haptic touch, which was previously featured on the iPhone XR. Haptic touch retains some of 3D Touch's features but is based on a long press instead of a hard press.

Sensors

iPhones feature a number of sensors, which are used to adjust the screen based on operating conditions, enable motion-controlled games, , unlock the phone, and authenticate purchases with , among many other things.

Proximity sensor

A deactivates the display and when the device is brought near the face during a call. This is done to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs from the user's face and ears.[123]

Ambient light sensor

An adjusts the display brightness which saves battery power and prevents the screen from being too bright or too dark.[124]