Evolution of the iPhone: How Apple built the poster boy for smartphones

On the morning of January 9, 2007, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs would famously trick the audience into believing that Apple was announcing three new products – a touchscreen iPod, an advanced phone, and an internet communicator. Jobs would then shock the audience by pulling out just one product from his pocket – the iPhone.  

Over 15 years later, even as touchscreen smartphones have become ubiquitous, the Apple iPhone remains one of the most iconic phones in history. But the legacy of the iPhone wasn’t built in a day. With the new iPhone expected to drop soon, it seems an apt time to look back at how the Apple iPhone evolved over the years. 

The first iPhone

While not the first smartphone of its time, the 2007 iPhone succeeded where phones like the Nokia 9000 had failed – ease-of use. What made the iPhone a jaw-dropper was the presence of a graphical user interface (GUI) that was intuitive to use and the support for finger gestures to control aspects of the phone was also magical at the time.  

Users could tap on apps to open them, swipe across their music libraries and use a second finger to zoom into pictures, a feature we take for granted today but one that was impossible to execute with ease back then.  

The iPhone would go on sale months after the announcement, and people famously lined up outside Apple stores to get their hands on one. The iPhone would go on to be named the Invention of the year by Time. But it did have its flaws. Unlike several smartphones of its times, iPhone lacked 3G support. 

iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

The second iPhone, which many would know by the iPhone 3G, was launched over a year later in 2008. It didn’t feature significant design changes, but packed quite a few changes under the hood, headlined by 3G support. The iPhone 3G also featured the App Store for the first time, letting users connect to the Internet and add additional functionality to their phones.  

Less than a year later, Apple would launch the iPhone 3GS. The third-gen iPhone would still carry the iconic design but would vastly improve the performance of the iPhone. Apple would pack the iPhone 3GS with a new chip that was twice as fast as the iPhones before. So, when it was launched, the company said that the S in 3GS stood for Speed.  

iPhone 4 series

The iPhone 4 would launch in 2010 and would kick off the new decade with the first major shift in design from the iPhones before. The iPhone 4 used a sleek glass sandwich design. The front and back were now made of toughened glass, while a stainless-steel strip ran across the edges. The iPhone 4 was also taller and, for the first time, featured a selfie camera. With it, was also introduced FaceTime. 

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It was also the first iPhone to feature an in-house Apple A4 chip. Retina Display, Apple’s new standard for crisp, high-resolution displays was introduced with this phone. But even with all these additions, the iPhone 4 was the thinnest smartphone around.  

A year later, the iPhone 4s would bring Apple’s ‘Siri’ voice assistant, allowing users to speak, get responses, and complete tasks like setting reminders without even touching the phone. Signature Apple features like iCloud and iMessage were also introduced.  

iPhone 5 series

The iPhone 5 series brought a number of firsts for both Apple and the iPhone series. The phone was the first iPhone to launch in September, setting a trend for all future iPhones to come. It was also the first iPhone to completely take shape under new Apple CEO Tim Cook and feature a taller 4-inch screen. A new reversible and compact ‘lightning’ connector also replaced the 30-pin port.  

Apple followed up with the iPhone 5s in 2013. The 5s brought in a new white and gold colour scheme and a redesigned home button that now featured Apple’s TouchID fingerprint authentication system.  

With the iPhone 5s, Apple also began shipping wired EarPods. iOS 7 shifted the design language to more flat elements and added the file-sharing AirDrop feature.  

Alongside the 5s, Apple also announced the new iPhone 5c targeted at the youth. It featured colourful options and was also more affordable compared to the flagship series.  

iPhone 6 series

The iPhone 6 series was launched in two variants – the smaller iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch screen, and the larger iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5-inch screen. Apart from this, improvements in the performance, display, camera, and battery life made the iPhone 6 the highest selling iPhone, and the most successful selling smartphone till date.  

The trend of a vanilla and a Plus variant continued with the iPhone 6S series, and both the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus featured the new ‘3D touch’ feature that allowed users to lightly or firmly press the home button for different options. The 6s also became the first iPhone to have the popular Rose Gold colour variant. 

iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 series

Despite newer components, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be remembered for key design changes like the addition of a second telephoto lens, and the controversial exit of the headphone jack. Other firsts were the addition of a stereo speaker setup, and a 256GB storage variant.  

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were the last iPhones to feature the home button and TouchID. The series didn’t feature any major changes, but it did add wireless inductive charging for the first time on an iPhone. The iPhone 8’s body dimensions would also go on to be used in Apple’s more affordable, compact iPhone SE series across all three iterations launched in 2018, 2020 and 2022.  

iPhone X series

The iPhone X (pronounced ten, not X) was the biggest design shift for Apple’s iPhones in years, influencing most models since 2017. Marking 10 years since the first iPhone, the iPhone X dropped the bezels and the home button.  

TouchID was replaced by infrared based FaceID facial recognition, and all sensors and the phone’s front camera were now housed in a notch on top of the display. Navigation on the iPhone was now completely gesture based.  

A year later, the X series would get three new additions – the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR. The XS and XS Max improved upon the iPhone X, and apart from more powerful specifications, now included dual-SIM support and IP68 water resistance. 

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These were also the last iPhones to feature Apple’s 3D touch feature. The iPhone XR, on the other hand, was the more affordable version of the iPhone XS series with some watered-down specifications.  

iPhone 11 series

The 11 series would introduce the Pro, the first ‘Pro’ iPhones, and users could now choose between the iPhone 11, the feature-rich iPhone 11 Pro, and the large-screen Pro Max. While the iPhone 11 would pack the first ever ultrawide camera on an iPhone, the two Pro variants would become the first in the series to feature triple-cameras on the back.  

iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series

As many parts of the world jumped to 5G, Apple’s focus with the iPhone 12 series was 5G support. The brand also launched four new iPhone variants – iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and a new iPhone 12 mini, made for those looking for a pocket-sized flagship. 

The new, faster iPhone 12 models also added MagSafe support, allowing accessories that used wireless power transfer to stick to the back of iPhones using magnetic plates. This eliminated the need for carefully aligning the phones on wireless chargers.  

With the iPhone 13 series, four new direct successors to the 12 series were announced. While the models had no major standout feature except better performance, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max would add ProMotion, which supported a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and would shrink the notch by 20 per cent.  

iPhone 14 series

Coming to the iPhone 14, the biggest change in the lineup was the addition of Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro models. Now, a pill disconnected from the bezels, Dynamic Island replaced the notch and integrated the pill with various UI elements. Numerous features like satellite connectivity and crash detection were also added. 

An iPhone 14 Plus replaced the mini, allowing iPhone users to upgrade to a larger screen device without paying for the extra bells and whistles that came with the Pro Max variants.  

The way forward

While you can read more about what to expect from the new iPhone, the major changes expected from the 2023 iPhone include the switch to a USB Type-C port, and Dynamic Island across the series. Apple is expected to again launch two Pro and two non-Pro iPhones this year. What new additions and features Apple surprises us with this year will remain a mystery till September 12.