When the calendar flips over to January 9, 2023, it marks 16 years since then-Apple CEO, the late Steve Jobs, announced the iPhone to the world. More than 2.2 billion iPhones have been sold since, and we are now on the 26th model of this iconic handset. The iPhone has come a long way since the original iPhone, which launched on June 29, 2007.
The late Steve Jobs spoke about a mobile phone that the user could interact with their fingertips instead of a stylus back in 1999. Eight years later, at a keynote address in San Francisco, the then Apple CEO stated, “today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” Jobs introduced the iPhone as a trio of devices combined into one: a breakthrough internet communicator, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a widescreen iPod with touch controls.”
The Original iPhone
Although groundbreaking at launch, the original iPhone’s specifications are laughable by today’s standards. For example, its screen was a mere 3.5 inches, with a 480×320 resolution at 163 ppi, and it came with a meager 128 MB of eDRAM, and 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB of flash memory! The iPhone’s launch created a massive market for app developers, eventually coining the phrase, “we’ve got an app for that.” Today, there are more than 3.6 million apps in the Apple App Store, giving easy access to hundreds of thousands of games, productivity programs, and the best betting bonuses at their fingertips.
Siri Enters the Digitial World
Apple never stands still and continually looks at ways to push technology onwards and upwards. The iPhone 4S launched on October 14, 2011, not only came with an improved 52 MB of DDR2 RAM and a 960×640 at 325 ppi resolution screen but also the world’s first artificial intelligence on a handheld device. Siri became a standard iPhone feature from the iPhone 4S, launching way before Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. Users could as Siri basic questions and integrate them with third-party apps like Google Maps. Like everything Apple-related, Siri has seen continued development, and she even voiced ‘Puter in The Lego Batman Movie.
The Latest Iteration of the Iconic iPhone
Fastforward to September 16, 2022, and you arrive at the latest iteration of the iconic handset: the iPhone 14 Pro, and what a phone it is. The iPhone 14 Pro comes with the new A16 Bionic system on chip, a 48-megapixel quad-pixel camera sensor, a whopping 6 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 6.1 inch 1179×2556 at 460 ppi resolution display. It is quite a phenomenal piece of kit that is the envy of other smartphone manufacturers.
The iPhone 14 Pro comes with Apple’s new Emergency SOS via satellite service. When an iPhone user makes an Emergency SOS via satellite request, it sends a message to an orbiting Globalstar satellite, which then sends a message to ground stations located around the world. Initially only available in the United States and Canada, the service will extend to France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom in December 2022. it is an incredible service and one that will save countless lives because it works even when there are no cellular or WiFi networks available.
What’s Next for the iPhone?
The iPhone 14 is only a couple of months old, but rumors are already circulating about what lies in store for the iPhone 15. Tech industry experts believe Apple will switch to a USB-C charging system, bringing it in line with other devices. Others suggest Qualcomm modem chips, the new Dynamic Island for all models, a periscope zoom lens, and dropping the “Pro” title for the much catchier “Ultra.”