The iPhone is 15 years old: back in 6 digits to the smartphone that has changed everything

It only took Apple to reach this record figure. That year, the company markets the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as well as the very first iPhone SE, inspired by the iPhone 4.

Thirteen years ago, Apple presented the very first iPhone

While Apple presented the iPhone 12, back, in archives on Tuesday evening on the very first phone of the apple brand. Released in 2007, the iPhone had revolutionized mobiles, opening the era of smartphones and jostling our habits. A stroke of genius from Steve Jobs which still influences the phones that come out 13 years later.

It’s “Showtime” for Apple ! The Californian giant presented its new generation of phones on Tuesday, the iPhone 12. The apple brand has long been a reference in the world of smartphones, both in terms of design and performance (provided you put the price). This year, Apple will market its first model compatible with 5G, the new network of mobile data deployed at the end of the year in France. The culmination of thirteen years of innovation since the release of the very first iPhone in 2007. Back, with the Europe 1 archives, on this striking moment in the history of new technologies.

The iPhone, the “Revolution” of Steve Jobs

While the debate on 5G rages in France lately, it must be remembered that in 2007, the world was still connected in 2G. At the time, the ultimate, it was the Blackberry, the valve phones, and we were not so far from the Nokia 3310. The touch was made its debut, slow, on the screens. But that was before. Before January 9, 2007. On that day, Apple summoned the press and technophiles around the world in San Francisco. At that time, the apple brand was known for a computer, the Mac, and an audio player, the iPod.

But everything has changed when Steve Jobs, the iconic boss of the company, went on stage for a conference of which he alone had secret. “Today, Apple will reinvent the phone,” he immediately promised to an audience acquired to his cause. Black turtleneck sweater, informed jeans, worn sneakers: in his look that has become emblematic, Steve Jobs makes the suspense last a few minutes before presenting his “revolution”. “We are going to present three innovative products: an iPod with large touch screen, a revolutionary phone and a peak internet communicator,” begins Steve Jobs, before revealing the trick: “There are not three devices but only one. And we call it iPhone “.

An audience “in shock”

The public discovers a rectangular phone, with a single block and holding in the hand (10 centimeters high by 6 wide), with a touch screen occupying 75% of the place at the front and a camera on the back. Inside, in addition to the phone function, the iPhone allows you to listen to its music on iTunes, navigate the Internet thanks to Safari and download applications via the App Store. The whole Apple ecosystem is contained in a single device to slide in its pocket.

This January 9, 2007, in San Francisco, in the public, there is Eli Abidbol, an approved Apple dealer. He came from Nice to discover the iPhone live and he is in love. “It’s amazing, we saw incredible things !”, he enthuses at the microphone of Europe 1. “We are used to seeing nice things at Apple but here I think it’s their most beautiful product launch. We are in shock, we wait to see the phone and especially to be able to have a.””

An innovative phone that has become the standard

The reception reserved for the iPhone at the time is a mixture of fascination and excitation. Everyone wanted to try this device usable with a single finger. Retrospectively, it seems childish. But at the time, it aroused a lot of questions, even among professionals. Didier Lombard, for example, the boss of France Telecom at the time, was the guest of Jean-Pierre Elkabbach just before the launch in France in November. Together, they tried to identify this iPhone. “We turn the pages as in a book ?”Asked the interviewer from Europe 1. “Exactly. And afterwards, it’s Ali Baba’s cave: we press a square and it opens one of the menus “, groped Didier Lombard.

13 years and 25 models later, the iPhone is always a reference. But he is no longer the only phone to make people dream. Samsung, LG, Sony, Huawei … All the manufacturers have started there, with more or less success. An abundant offer that means that three quarters of French people today have a smartphone in their pocket. In this overloaded landscape, the iPhone appears as a very high -end model (even if cheaper models, such as SE, exist). A way for Apple to swim above the melee of competitors who target the mid-range, like the wave of new Chinese manufacturers: Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, etc.

The foldable phone, the future of the smartphone ?

However, we feel that we are approaching the end of the cycle driven by the iPhone. After years of refining and improvement, the smartphone as we know it has reached its full potential. It is a professional tool, a screen to watch series, a mini video game console, an ultra-sophisticated camera … but there is little “revolution” at the Steve Jobs. So manufacturers try to invent the smartphone of the future. And it may be a foldable phone, with a flexible screen. The models have been coming to the dropper for a year.

“Consumer demand has been the same for almost ten years now: having ever larger screens to fluidify your consumption of content,” said Samsung France in Europe 1 Guillaume Berlemont, Director of Marketing France. “It is estimated that, within five years, more than 80% of smartphones in the world will be models that bend.”See you, therefore, in 2025 to see which will be the successor of the iPhone as a new” telephone revolution “.

The iPhone is 15 years old: back in 6 digits to the smartphone that has changed everything

The iPhone is 15 years old ! On June 29, 2007, Steve Jobs presented what was going to become a revolution for the world of telephony. Back on the very first 6 -digit iPhone.

Posted on June 29, 2022 at 3 h 45 min

iPhone 13 128 GB at the best price basic price: € 909

2

Contrary to what the legend tells, the iPhone is not really the first phone on which Apple worked, but the second.

Two years before the announcement of the iPhone, Apple joined Motorola to offer the Rokr E1, a “dumbphone” that has not really seduced. What did Apple do in this galley ?

The Rokr E1 embarked an iTunes function which gave access to the iTunes Music Store. Problem, the phone could only embark 100 songs since it only had 512 MB of storage.

What convince Apple to really create its own phone.

9:42 am

This is the time displayed on the very first iPhone and the one that will remain displayed on all the demos, visuals and advertisements of the Apple smartphone. In 2010, the iPad then replaced 9:42 a.m. But why these specific hours ?

After years of mystery, Scott Forstall, former senior IOS development manager, ended up explaining the reason for this choice. Apple Keynotes generally started at 9 a.m.

They were structured for the announcement of the product to work at around 9:40 am. Apple chose to display 9:42 am for the slightly approximate side (the time of applause for example) then 9:41, for the same reasons.

499

It is the sale price in dollars of the very first iPhone marketed in the United States on June 29, 2017. At the time, he embarked 4 GB of storage and a version with 8 GB was sold for 599 dollars.

If the first iPhone was a real revolution, it did not yet embark all the technologies of the more recent versions. Logically, prices have increased considerably.

Today, a latest generation iPhone is sold at more than 800 euros for standard versions and more than 1000 euros for pro models. But they replace many tools that were used at the time, including compact cameras. What era !

11.7 million

This is the number of iPhone sold during 2008, according to Apple figures. This may seem little in view of the 211.8 million models sold in 2016.

Today, Apple no longer communicates the number of units sold. But the expansion of the range undoubtedly allows the apple to perform more.

123 million

This is the turnover in dollars generated by sales of the first iPhone in 2007. A crazy performance at the time, especially since the iPhone first of the name began to be marketed in June.

In 2016, iPhone sales generated $ 136.7 billion in turnover. A much more impressive score which is explained by two factors: Apple markets many more models and, above all, prices have increased considerably over time.

1 billion

From the middle of 2016, Apple can boast of having sold 1 billion iPhone worldwide. A figure as symbolic as impressive.

It only took Apple to reach this record figure. That year, the company markets the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as well as the very first iPhone SE, inspired by the iPhone 4.

The feat is all the more remarkable since the smartphone market has become ultra-competitive in just a few years.