Looking back at 10 years of the Apple iPhone

1/13

The very first iPhone was announced on 9th January 2007, but not released until 29th June. It was available in either 4GB or 8GB internal storage capacities. It was mostly aluminum with a plastic bottom and introduced many of the features of a modern smartphone including a grid of icons, a single home button, and most importantly a 3.5-inch multi-touch display instead of physical numberpad/keyboard.

While it had internet connectivity, the app store didn't exist yet - the apps pre-installed on the phone were all you got.

2/13

The second-generation iPhone was unveiled on 9th June 2008 and was available in glossy black or white polycarbonate in 8GB and 16GB storage capacities.

The iPhone 3G added 3G data connectivity, GPS and most importantly was the first iPhone to feature the App Store. What else do we have to say about it? Warp back to our review from 2008.

3/13

The first 'S' model iPhone was unveiled on 8th June 2009 and set the tone for Apple's future iPhone releases with one year focusing on a new design and the next year offering hardware improvements.

The main upgrade of the 3GS was its 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, which was said to be twice as fast as the iPhone 3G. Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller said the 'S' stood for Speed. The 3GS was also the first iPhone with a 32GB storage option.

Check out our iPhone 3GS review and video from eight years ago!

4/13

The first major redesign of the iPhone was unveiled on 7th June 2010 and featured a new, squarer minimalist look, and a metal and glass design that is still copied to this day. 

This was also the first Apple device to use a high resolution (326ppi) "Retina Display", named after the assertion that a display of approximately 300ppi at a distance of 305mm from one's eye is the maximum amount of detail that the human retina can perceive.

5/13

The 4S had the same design as the 4 and was the first iPhone unveiled by new CEO Tim Cook on 4th October 2011 - sadly Apple founder Steve Jobs died the next day. The 4S was the first iPhone to offer a 64GB storage option and was the first to ship with Siri, Apple's virtual assistant. 

Siri was one of the first apps you could use to make calls, send messages and create reminders, all with conversational language instead of specific commands. How good was it back then? Check out our epic voice assistant battle!

6/13

The second major iPhone redesign was unveiled on 12th September 2012 and saw the iPhone grow to 4-inches (despite Steve Job's assertation that "no-ones going to buy a big phone") and removed the glass back in favor of a lighter aluminum build. 

The iPhone 5 also introduced the reversible Lightning connector, replacing the old 30-pin port, and rendering iPhone docks in hotels across the world obsolete.

7/13

The 5S was released on 20th September 2013 and was the first iPhone to introduce a Gold color option and was also the first to feature Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanner.

It was also the first smartphone with a 64-bit processor (the Apple A7) and the first to feature Apple's motion coprocessor, the M7, which helped manage data from the phone's array of sensors. Lots of firsts, but was it good enough? Our verdict.

8/13

2013 also saw Apple introduce a new 'budget' iPhone. The 5C had a colorful polycarbonate shell available in five different color options that designer Jony Ive famously called "unapologetically plastic." 

Internally, it mostly had the same specs as the previous year's iPhone 5.

9/13

Unable to ignore the popularity of big screen Android devices, the next redesign of the iPhone saw it go big with two new models introduced on 9th September 2014: the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. To accommodate the larger size, the power button was relocated from the top of the phone to the side.

Both phones featured a softer, curvier design and added NFC support and a new 128GB storage option.

10/13

The 6s and 6s Plus were unveiled on 9th September 2015 and looked mostly the same as the 6. Apple introduced a new Rose Gold color, and two big new features: Live Photos, which turn still pictures into short videos, and 3D Touch, which took advantage of the 6s's new pressure-sensitive screen to let users access shortcuts and context by pressing harder on the display.

11/13

A surprising addition to the iPhone lineup was the iPhone SE, unveiled on 21st March 2016. The SE was a spiritual successor to the 5C, and added as a more affordable option to the 6s and 6s Plus.

The 4-inch phone had the same design as the iPhone 5S but with the same processor and rear camera found in the 6s.

12/13

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were introduced on 7th September 2016  and mostly kept the same design as the iPhone 6. Two new color options were introduced: Black and glossy Jet Black and for the first time the iPhone was IP67 dust and water resistant.

A 256GB storage option was introduced and the mechanical home button was replaced with a fully digital version. Of course, the biggest change was Apple removing the 3.5mm headphone jack, calling it "courage" to do so.