Shortcut Mobile Guide cuu543
On January 9, twelve years ago, then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced a revolutionary product to digital enthusiasts worldwide—the iPhone.
At that time, Jobs announced the launch of three revolutionary products, including a touch-screen widescreen iPod, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a groundbreaking internet communication device. This was also the earliest definition of the iPhone.
This phone, released in 2007, is now referred to as the “first-generation iPhone.”
Macworld 2007: Jobs with the first-generation iPhone
As time has passed, this historic launch event in the tech world has been over twelve years ago, and the iPhone has “spawned” a total of twelve generations. With the annual Apple fall product launch approaching, let’s take a moment to review the development of the iPhone.
The Birth of the iPhone
In 2004, Apple assembled a research and development team of over a thousand employees and secretly initiated a project called “Project Purple.”
Jobs’ initial vision was to develop a device similar to today’s iPad, but he later changed his mind and decided to enter the mobile phone market. Three years later, the iPhone was born.
iPhone (2007)
Rewinding to January 9, 2007, Jobs officially launched the smartphone iPhone at Macworld 2007. To distinguish it from later iPhone models, the first-generation iPhone is also referred to as “iPhone 2G” or “first-generation iPhone.”
The first-generation iPhone supported 2.5G quad-band GSM and came with 4GB and 8GB storage options, priced at $499 and $599, respectively.
First-generation iPhone | Source: wikipedia
The first-generation iPhone featured a 3.5-inch multi-touch touchscreen, and aside from the single Home button on the front, it had four physical buttons: volume, mute, and lock buttons, with over 6 million units sold.
Many media outlets referred to it as the “Jesus phone,” and this design style was carried on for many years. However, to avoid metal interference with signals, the first-generation iPhone, primarily made of aluminum, had a plastic bottom on the back.
iPhone 3G (2008)
On June 10, 2008, Jobs introduced the iPhone 3G at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
With a similar internal structure to its predecessor, the iPhone 3G added a 3G module, supporting 3G networks and multi-band UMTS/HSDPA. This is where the name “iPhone 3G” comes from.
iPhone 3G | Source: iMore
The iPhone 3G also featured a 3.5-inch multi-touch screen, powered by a Samsung S5PC100 32-bit RISC ARM11 processor (620MHz), and its back was entirely made of plastic, available in black and white colors, equipped with a 1150mAh battery.
The iPhone Enters China
2009 was an unusual year in the history of the iPhone. This year marked the beginning of the “tick-tock” update model for the iPhone. In this year, the iPhone entered China, being sold through a partnership between Unicom and Apple during a time when contract phones dominated the market.
(Note: The so-called “tick-tock” update model refers to the “tick” update year, where Apple primarily updates the device’s design, while the “tock” update year, commonly referred to as the “s” update, involves updates in speed, performance, and stability based on the previous year’s industrial design.)
iPhone 3GS (2009)
Ten years ago, on June 9, 2009, the iPhone 3GS was officially unveiled at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Besides being the first iPhone to meet Chinese users, it was also the first iPhone with an “S” suffix.
Phil Schiller, Apple’s current Chief Marketing Officer, stated that the iPhone 3GS was twice as fast as its predecessors, with the “S” representing speed.
iPhone 3GS
Compared to its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS featured a better quality screen and camera, powered by a Samsung S5PC100 processor based on the ARM Cortex-A8 architecture (600MHz), and the battery capacity was slightly upgraded to 1220mAh.
iPhone 4 (2010)
On June 8, 2010, at the Moscone West Convention Center in the U.S., the fourth-generation iPhone—iPhone 4—was officially unveiled to the public at WWDC 2010.
iPhone 4
Despite being embroiled in the “Antennagate” controversy, the iPhone 4 benefited from Apple’s Retina display, boasting an impressive 326ppi, and its influential “sandwich” structural design led to sales of 1.7 million units within three weeks of launch, with total sales exceeding 30 million within six months, marking the first peak in the iPhone’s development history.
iPhone 4 | Source: wired
Notably, this year Apple adopted its self-designed A-series chips. Similar to the naming of the phones, the chip used in the iPhone 4 was called the A4 processor.
iPhone 4s (2011)
This year, Apple held its first fall iPhone product launch event. On October 4, at the event titled “Let’s talk iPhone,” Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook officially announced the new generation product, the iPhone 4s.
Unfortunately, the next day, on October 5, Jobs passed away at the age of 56. The iPhone 4s thus became Jobs’ final work.
iPhone 4s
The iPhone 4s looked nearly identical to the iPhone 4, but there were significant internal changes. The iPhone 4s redesigned the antenna positions, utilized a dual-core A5 processor based on the ARM Cortex-A9 architecture, and introduced the voice assistant Siri and iCloud services, along with a new 64GB storage version.
The “sandwich” structure of the iPhone 4S | Source: iMore
The Post-Jobs Era of iPhone
Some say: “Without Jobs, the iPhone feels soulless, and it has truly become a commodity.” To this day, many still regard the iPhone 4s as a classic that Apple cannot replicate.
In fact, although only five generations of iPhones were designed with Jobs’ involvement, today’s iPhones still bear some influence from him. We refer to this as the “post-Jobs era” of the iPhone. As large-screen smartphones have gradually become mainstream, the iPhone has begun its journey of becoming taller and bulkier.
The Taller iPhone—iPhone 5 (2012)
On September 13, 2012, the iPhone 5 was officially unveiled at Apple’s fall product launch event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The Taller iPhone 5
This year, the iPhone grew taller, with the iPhone 5’s height increasing from 115.2mm to 123.8mm. It featured an In-Cell fully bonded display, with the screen size upgraded from 3.5 inches to 4 inches, maintaining a 16:9 aspect ratio. It utilized a semi-metal three-section body and supported 3.9G LTE mobile networks.
The iPhone 5 with Lightning connector
This year, the iPhone 5 abandoned the previous 30-pin connector in favor of a newly designed Lightning connector with eight pins, which remains standard for every iPhone to this day.
iPhone 5s & iPhone 5c (2013)
On September 10, 2013, the iPhone welcomed its seventh generation products—iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. The iPhone 5s introduced a champagne gold color, which became a symbol of status.
Hardware improvements for the iPhone 5s included a dual-tone flash and the world’s first 64-bit processor in a smartphone—the Apple A7 processor.
Additionally, the iPhone 5s, equipped with Touch ID, was one of the earliest smartphones to use pressure-sensitive fingerprint recognition.
iPhone 5s (Champagne Gold)
The iPhone 5c featured a colorful polycarbonate body, introducing vibrant colors to the iPhone lineup for the first time. Its processor retained the A6 chip from the iPhone 5, and its screen, memory, camera, and other hardware specifications were the same as the iPhone 5.
iPhone 5c | Source: CNET
The Bulkier iPhone—iPhone 6 & 6 Plus (2014)
On September 10, 2014, the iPhone became bulkier.
On this day, Apple launched two iPhones, marking its first release of smartphones with screens larger than 4 inches. The iPhone 6 had a screen size of 4.7 inches, while the iPhone 6 Plus had a screen size of 5.5 inches, both belonging to the eighth generation of the iPhone series.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
This generation of iPhones also had battery capacities that made iPhone 6s users sigh: the iPhone 6 had a battery capacity of 1810mAh, while the iPhone 6 Plus had a capacity of 2915mAh. It was also from this generation that the iPhone’s camera began to protrude.
(Note: iPhone 6s: 1715mAh, iPhone 6s Plus: 2750mAh)
iPhone 6s & iPhone 6s Plus (2015)
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were officially released on September 10, 2015. Aside from the “s” mark on the back, their appearance was nearly identical to the previous generation.
iPhone 6s (Rose Gold)
This generation of iPhones introduced a rose gold color, supported pressure-sensitive touch screen technology (3D Touch), equipped with a Taptic Engine vibration module, and for the first time increased the memory to 2GB.
3D Touch | Source: digitaltrends
iPhone SE (2016)
Perhaps having walked too long on the path of being taller and bulkier, Apple felt a bit tired. On March 21, 2016, at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, the “compact and powerful” iPhone SE was released. SE stands for Special Edition.
The iPhone SE was the first iPhone since the original iPhone not to use a numerical designation.
The iPhone SE’s appearance is basically the same as the iPhone 5s, available in gold, silver, space gray, and rose gold colors, powered by the A9 processor, supporting Live Photos, with domestic prices of 3288 yuan and 4088 yuan for the 16GB and 64GB versions, respectively.
The iPhone SE was also the last iPhone to feature a 3.5mm headphone jack.
iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus (2016)
On September 8, 2016, Apple launched the tenth generation smartphone—the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
The design of the iPhone 7 was simpler and more streamlined compared to the iPhone 6S, with fewer antenna lines. It was available in gold, silver, rose gold, black, jet black, and red (special edition) colors.
iPhone 7 Plus (Jet Black)
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus eliminated the 3.5mm headphone jack, and their Home button transitioned from a mechanical button to a pressure-sensitive button that could sense pressure and provide haptic feedback. Additionally, the iPhone 7 Plus was the first iPhone to feature a dual-camera system.
iPhone 8 & iPhone 8 Plus (2017)
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus continued the digital series of the iPhone. The design, which followed the fourth generation, left many users feeling aesthetic fatigue.
The iPhone 8 series skipped the 7s naming convention, featuring the A11 Bionic chip, a glass back, and supporting Qi standard wireless charging and IP67 dust and water resistance.
iPhone 8 Plus (Gold)
The Red iPhone
Although the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 series still followed the previous generation’s design, they became “redder.” This “red” refers to the special edition red color—Product Red.
Product Red is a charitable organization, which has collaborated with globally renowned brands such as Apple, Converse, Motorola, Dell, Nike, and Armani to develop related red-themed products, with a portion of the profits directly donated to The Global Fund to help combat AIDS in Africa.
Apple began collaborating with Product Red in 2006, launching the red special edition iPod nano.
On March 21, 2017, Apple introduced the red special edition iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
iPhone 8 (Red Special Edition)
On April 9, 2018, the red special edition iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were unveiled.
On September 13, 2018, Apple released the iPhone XR with an LCD screen, also launching its red (Product Red) version.
iPhone XR (Red)
As of now, Apple has raised over $200 million for Product Red.
The Notch iPhone—iPhone X (2017)
On September 13, 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone X at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus. The Roman numeral X signifies the number ten, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the iPhone’s release.
Also launched were the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
iPhone X (Space Gray)
The release of the iPhone X, transitioning from Arabic numerals to Roman numerals, sparked numerous debates. The notch display and Face ID changed the design language established in previous generations, truly ushering the phone into the era of controversial notched screens.
iPhone XS & XS Max & XR (2018)
On September 13, 2018, at the Steve Jobs Theater, Cook announced the twelfth generation iPhones—iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which continued the notched full-screen design.
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max | Source: bestproducts
The iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR introduced the long-awaited dual SIM feature for domestic consumers, while the iPhone XR featured a 6.1-inch LCD screen, omitted 3D Touch, and came in six colors.
iPhone XR available in six colors
This year, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max abandoned the previous naming conventions of using numbers and “Plus”.
This year, the price of the iPhone XS in China exceeded 10,000 yuan for the first time, with the highest configuration versions of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max priced at 11,899 yuan and 12,799 yuan, respectively.
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max | Source: bestproducts
As we approach the thirteenth generation iPhone’s release, it has been over twelve years since the first iPhone was launched. From the current information regarding the 2019 iPhone, it remains uncertain whether the new generation will revert to numerical naming conventions, and its appearance is unlikely to change significantly.
However, we still hope that Apple can deliver stunning products. In an era where smartphone designs are becoming increasingly homogenized, major phone manufacturers should possess their unique styles. After all, only through a hundred flowers blooming can we achieve a hundred schools of thought contending.
Popular iPhone Tips
One-click activation tool for Windows and Office
How to remove the little red dot on the iPhone settings icon
How to change iPhone 6, 7, 8 to full-screen gestures
4K resolution ultra-clear wallpapers, usable on both phones and iPads
How to modify WeChat notification sounds on iOS 12 without jailbreaking
Do you know these three methods for taking long screenshots on iPhone?
Unbeatable tool for cracking VIP music across the internet!
How to block forced updates on Apple phones
Tip | How to set a transparent nickname on WeChat