iPhone (/ˈaɪfoʊn/ EYE-fone) is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. All generations of the iPhone use Apple's iOS mobile operating system software. The first-generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, and multiple new hardware iterations with new iOS releases have been released since.
The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and can connect to cellular networks. An iPhone can shoot video (though this was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS), take photos, play music, send and receive email, browse the web, send and receive text messages, follow GPS navigation, record notes, perform mathematical calculations, and receive visual voicemail. Other functionality, such as video games, reference works, and social networking, can be enabled by downloading mobile apps. As of January 2017, Apple's App Store contained more than 2.2 million applications available for the iPhone.
Apple has released eleven generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the eleven major releases of the iOS operating system. The original first-generation iPhone was a GSM 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 iPhone 3G added 3G network support and was followed by the 3GS with improved hardware, the 4 with a metal chassis, higher display resolution and front-facing camera, and the 4S with improved hardware and the voice assistant Siri. The iPhone 5 featured a taller, 4-inch display and Apple's newly introduced Lightning connector. In 2013, Apple released the 5S with improved hardware and a fingerprint reader, and the lower-cost 5C, a version of the 5 with colored plastic casings instead of metal.
History and availability[]
Main article: History of iPhone
See also: List of iOS devices
| iPhone | Released with | Release date | Final supported OS | Support ended | Support lifespan | Launch price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | iPhone OS 1.0 | June 29, 2007 | iPhone OS 3.1.3 | June 20, 2010 | 2 years, 11 months | $499/$599* | |||||
| iPhone 3G | iPhone OS 2.0 | July 11, 2008 | iOS 4.2.1 | March 3, 2011 | 2 years, 7 months | $199/$299* | |||||
| iPhone 3GS | iPhone OS 3.0 | June 19, 2009 | iOS 6.1.6 | September 18, 2013 | 4 years, 2 months | $199/$299* | |||||
| iPhone 4 | iOS 4 | June 21, 2010 | iOS 7.1.2 | September 17, 2014 | 4 years, 2 months | $199/$299* | |||||
| iPhone 4S | iOS 5 | October 14, 2011 | iOS 9.3.5 | September 12, 2016 | 4 years, 10 months | $199/$299/$399* | |||||
| iPhone 5 | iOS 6 | September 21, 2012 | iOS 10.3.3 | September 18, 2017 | 4 years, 11 months | $199/$299/$399* | |||||
| iPhone 5C | iOS 7 | September 20, 2013 | iOS 10.3.3 | September 18, 2017 | 3 years, 11 months | $99/$199* | |||||
| iPhone 5S | iOS 7 | September 20, 2013 | latest iOS | (current) | > 5 years, 6 months | $199/$299/$399* | |||||
| iPhone 6 / 6 Plus | iOS 8 | September 19, 2014 | latest iOS | (current) | > 4 years, 6 months | $649/$749/$849 ($749/$849/$949) | |||||
| iPhone 6S / 6S Plus | iOS 9 | September 25, 2015 | latest iOS | (current) | > 3 years, 6 months | $649/$749/$849 ($749/$849/$949) | |||||
| iPhone SE | iOS 9.3 | March 31, 2016 | latest iOS | (current) | > 2 years, 11 months | $399/$499 | |||||
| iPhone 7 / 7 Plus | iOS 10 | September 16, 2016 | latest iOS | (current) | > 2 years, 6 months | $649/$749/$849 ($769/$869/$969) | |||||
| iPhone 8 / 8 Plus | iOS 11 | September 22, 2017 | latest iOS | (current) | > 1 year, 6 months | $699/$849 ($799/$949) | |||||
| iPhone X | iOS 11.0.1 | November 3, 2017 | latest iOS | (current) | > 1 year, 4 months | $999/$1149 | |||||
| iPhone XS / XS Max | iOS 12 | September 21, 2018 | latest iOS | (current) | > 6 months | $999/$1149/$1349 ($1099/$1249/$1449) | |||||
| iPhone XR | iOS 12 | October 26, 2018 | latest iOS | (current) | > 5 months | $749/$799/$899 | |||||
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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 Jonathan Ive, the designer behind the iMac and iPod)[15] to work on the highly confidential "Project Purple."[16] Apple CEO Steve Jobs steered the original focus away from a tablet (which Apple eventually revisited in the form of the iPad) towards a phone.[17] Apple created the device during a secretive collaboration with Cingular Wireless (which became AT&T Mobility) 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.[19][20]
Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola. Among other deficiencies, the ROKR E1's firmware limited storage to only 100 iTunes songs to avoid competing with Apple's iPod nano.[21][22]
Cingular gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house[23][24] and even paid Apple a fraction of its monthly service revenue (until the iPhone 3G),[25] in exchange for four years of exclusive US sales, until 2011.[26]
Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld 2007 convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.[27] The two initial models, a 4 GB model priced at US$499 and an 8 GB model at US$599 (both requiring a two-year contract), went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, at 6:00 pm local time, while hundreds of customers lined up outside the stores nationwide.[28] The passionate reaction to the launch of the iPhone resulted in sections of the media dubbing it the 'Jesus phone'.[29][30] 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.
Worldwide iPhone availability:
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.[31] Apple released the iPhone 3G in upwards of eighty countries and territories.[32] 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,[33] and 40% of users had household incomes over US$100,000.[34]
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 GSM 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 aluminosilicate glass front and back with a stainless steel edge that serves as the antennas. 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 antenna-gate.[36]
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 average selling price of nearly $660. The average selling price has remained fairly constant for most of the phone's lifespan, hovering between $622 and $660.[43] The production price of the iPhone 4S was estimated by IHS iSuppli, in October 2011, to be $188, $207 and $245, for the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models, respectively.[44] Labor costs are estimated at between $12.50 and $30 per unit, with workers on the iPhone assembly line making $1.78 an hour.[45]
In February 2012, ComScore reported that 12.4% of US mobile subscribers used an iPhone.[46] Approximately 6.4 million iPhones are active in the US alone.[34]
On September 12, 2012, Apple announced the iPhone 5. It has a 4-inch display, up from its predecessors' 3.5-inch screen. The device comes with the same 326 pixels per inch found in the iPhone 4 and 4S. The iPhone 5 has the SoC 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 SK Telecom 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 four inches and has also asked for screen designs for a new tablet device measuring slightly less than 13 inches 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 and 5.5 inches respectively.[50]
In 2016, Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, 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 3.5mm 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[53] and XR[54] at the Steve Jobs theater at Apple Park. 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" display, improved cameras with Smart HDR, and the A12 Bionic chip. The iPhone XS and XS Max are IP68 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 liquids such as chlorinated-water, salt water, tea, wine, beer, and juices. Apple also announced the fourth generation of Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 4.
On January 11, 2011, Verizon announced during a media event that it had reached an agreement with Apple and would begin selling a CDMA iPhone 4. Verizon said it would be available for pre-order on February 3, with a release set for February 10.[37][38] In February 2011, the Verizon iPhone accounted for 4.5% of all iPhone ad impressions in the US on Millennial Media's mobile ad network.[39]