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iPhone (1st generation)

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This article about the first iPhone model. For the line of smartphones, see iPhone.

The iPhone (retroactively named the original iPhone, iPhone 2G, or iPhone 1) was the first generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on January 9, 2007,[1] after months of rumors and speculation.[2]

The iPhone was released in the United States on June 29, 2007. It featured quad-band GSM cellular connectivity with GPRS and EDGE support for data transfer.

The original iPhone no longer receives software updates from Apple; its final official firmware version was iPhone OS 3.1.3. It was succeeded by the iPhone 3G.

History

Development

Steve Jobs, CEO at Apple Inc., conceived an idea of using a multi-touch touchscreen to interact with a computer in a way in which he could type directly onto the display, essentially removing the physical keyboard and mouse, the same as a tablet computer. Jobs recruited a group of Apple engineers to investigate the idea as a side project.[3] When Jobs reviewed the prototype and its user interface, he conceived a second idea of implementing the technology onto a mobile phone.[4] The whole effort was called the Project Purple 2 and began in 2005.[5]

Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless. The development cost of the collaboration was estimated to have been $150 million[6] over a thirty-month period. Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola. Instead, Cingular Wireless gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house.[7][8]

Steve_Jobs_iPhone_2007_Presentation_(HD)

Steve Jobs iPhone 2007 Presentation (HD)

The original iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007 in a keynote address at the Macworld Conference & Expo held in Moscone West in San Francisco, California.[3] In his address, Jobs said, "I have been looking forward to this for two and a half years", and that "today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone."[9] Jobs introduced the iPhone as a combination of three devices: a "widescreen iPod with touch controls"; a "revolutionary mobile phone"; and a "breakthrough Internet communicator".[10]

Release

The iPhone was released on June 29, 2007 in the United States where thousands of people were reported to have waited outside Apple and AT&T retail stores days before the device's launch;[11] with many stores reporting stock shortages within an hour. To avoid repeating the problems of the PlayStation 3 launch, which caused burglaries and even a shooting, off-duty police officers were hired to guard stores overnight.[12]

It was later made available in Germany and the United Kingdom on November 9, 2007, followed by France on November 29, and Austria and Ireland in March 2008.[13][14][15]

Six out of ten Americans surveyed said they knew the iPhone was coming before its release.[16]

IPhone_(1st_generation)_-_Original_Guided_Tour_2007

IPhone (1st generation) - Original Guided Tour 2007

Post-release

The iPod touch, a touchscreen device with the media and internet abilities and interface of the iPhone, but without the ability to connect to a cellular network for phone functions or internet access, was released on September 5, 2007. At the same time, Apple significantly dropped the price of the 8 GB model while discontinuing the 4 GB model.[17] Apple sold the one millionth iPhone five days later, or 74 days after the release.[18] After receiving "hundreds of emails...upset" about the price drop, Apple gave store credit to early adopters.[19]

A 16 GB model was released on February 5, 2008.[20] Apple released an SDK on March 6, 2008, allowing developers to create the apps that would be available starting in iPhone OS version 2.0, a free upgrade for iPhone users. On June 9, Apple announced the iPhone 3G, which began shipping July 11 with support for 3G networks.[21] The original iPhone was discontinued at that time; total sales volume came to 6,124,000 units.[22]

IPhone 2G, iPhone OS 1.0

iPhone 2G running iPhone OS 1.0.

While most Apple literature simply called the device "iPhone," and users call the iPhone "iPhone 2G" or "iPhone 1", the term "original iPhone" appears in a press release from July 2010, and most recently an Apple support document last updated in March 2022[23][24]

Design

The original iPhone's design was centered on a glass multi-touch touchscreen display. The original iPhone introduced five physical buttons that have remained consistent over newer generations of iPhone. The device featured a chrome plated metal frame. The back of which was made of aluminum with a black plastic base, required because metal blocks cellular and Wi-Fi signals.[25]

The 2MP camera was located in the upper-left corner of the iPhone's rear. The headphone socket was recessed into the casing making it incompatible with most headsets without the use of an adapter. Other models do not have this issue.[25]

Software

During release, the iPhone was marketed as running "OS X". The name of the operating system was revealed as iPhone OS in the iPhone 2.0 SDK. Apple has released 13 major software versions for the iPhone, including the one bundled with original iPhone units, but software updates for the original up to the iPhone 6 have been discontinued.

Software history

The original release of the operating system included Visual Voicemail, multi-touch gestures, HTML email, Safari web browser, threaded text messaging, and YouTube. However, many features like MMS, apps, and copy and paste were not supported at release. These missing features led to hackers "jailbreaking" their phones and getting paid to jailbreak others which added these missing features. Official software updates slowly added these features.

iPhone OS 2, released July 11, 2008, introduced applications, exchange support, push e-mail, and other enhancements.

iPhone OS 3, released June 17, 2009, introduced copy and paste, and new YouTube features. Some features were designed for newer iPhone models and were not supported on the original iPhone.

Unlike the iPhone 3G, the original iPhone did not receive the iOS 4 update.

Hardware

Apart from the unknown-purpose Apple 338S0297 in the original iPhone, Apple originally did not actually manufacture the iPhone to any extent, they only wrote the firmware for the hardware they planned to have used in the iPhone, wrote the software, and planned the design. The final hardware that Foxconn manufactured the iPhone with based on Apple's design is as follows:[26]

  • Samsung S5L8900 Application Processor[27]
  • Samsung K9MCG08 (NOR/NAND Flash Storage)
  • Marvell W8686 (Wi-Fi)
  • CSR BlueCore4 (Bluetooth)
  • Infineon S-Gold-2 (Phone, Messages, and Cellular Data)

References

  1. ↑ Honan, Mathew. "Apple unveils iPhone", Macworld, January 9, 2007. Retrieved on April 6, 2008. 
  2. ↑ Dolan, Brian. Timeline of Apple "iPhone" Rumors (1999–Present). Retrieved on February 17, 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cohen, Peter. "Macworld Expo Keynote Live Update", Macworld, January 9, 2007. Retrieved on February 1, 2007. 
  4. ↑ D8: Steve Jobs on the iPhone's Origin. All Things Digital (June 2, 2010). Retrieved on June 20, 2010.
  5. ↑ Murtazin, Eldar. "Apple's Phone: From 1980s' Sketches to iPhone. Part 3", Mobile-review, June 20, 2010. Retrieved on March 27, 2011. 
  6. ↑ Vogelstein, Fred (January 9, 2008). The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry. Wired News. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved on January 10, 2008.
  7. ↑ Lewis, Peter. "How Apple kept its iPhone secrets", CNN Money, January 12, 2007. Retrieved on January 11, 2009. 
  8. ↑ Vogelstein, Fred (January 9, 2008). The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry. Wired News. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved on January 10, 2008.
  9. ↑ Farber, Dan (January 9, 2007). Jobs: Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. ZDNet "Between the Lines" blog. Retrieved on June 20, 2010.
  10. ↑ Macworld San Francisco 2007 Keynote Address. Apple, Inc. (January 19, 2007).
  11. ↑ Apple Inc. Q3 2007 Unaudited Summary Data (PDF). Apple Inc. (July 25, 2007). Retrieved on June 6, 2008.
  12. ↑ Hart, Kim; Valle Sabrina. "Macworld Expo Keynote Live Update", The Washington Post, June 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 1, 2007. 
  13. ↑ Apple iPhone Launches in Germany and UK on November 9th by Arnold Kim, MacRumors. 2007-11-06.
  14. ↑ France finally gets the iPhone by Nik Fletcher, Engadget / Yahoo! News. 2007-10-16.
  15. ↑ iPhone Launches in Austria and Ireland by Arnold Kim, MacRumors. 2008-03-13.
  16. ↑ Johnson, Bobbie. "iPhone causes big Apple swarm in Big Apple storms", The Guardian, June 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 1, 2007. 
  17. ↑ Apple Sets iPhone Price at $399 for this Holiday Season. Apple. Retrieved on June 21, 2010.
  18. ↑ Apple Sells One Millionth iPhone. Apple. Retrieved on June 21, 2010.
  19. ↑ Jobs, Steve. To all iPhone customers:. Apple.
  20. ↑ Apple Adds New iPhone & iPod touch Models. Apple. Retrieved on June 21, 2010.
  21. ↑ Apple Introduces the New iPhone 3G. Apple. Retrieved on June 21, 2010.
  22. ↑ Table of iPhone sales by quarter. Retrieved on June 21, 2010.
  23. ↑ Find the serial number or IMEI on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch "If you have an original iPhone, find the serial number and IMEI engraved on the back.", Apple Support, 2022-03-18.
  24. ↑ Statement by Apple on iPhone 4 reception issues. Apple (2010-07-02). Retrieved on 2010-07-02.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 That damned recessed iPhone headphone jack. ZDNet. Retrieved on June 6, 2008.
  26. ↑ M68ap (Internals) - The iPhone Wiki
  27. ↑ Samsung S5L8900 Specs | CPUlist | PDAdb.net - Smartphone, Tablet, Netbook, PDA, PNA & Mobile Device Specifications Database
  28. ↑ Bringing Debian APT to the iPhone - Jay Freeman (saurik)

External links

iPhone (models)
iPhone 1 | 3G | 3GS | 4 | 4S | 5 | 5C · 5S | 6 · 6 Plus | 6S · 6S Plus | SE (1st)
7 · 7 Plus | 8 · 8 Plus | X | XR · XS · XS Max | 11 · 11 Pro · 11 Pro Max | SE (2nd)
12 · 12 mini · 12 Pro · 12 Pro Max | 13 · 13 mini · 13 Pro · 13 Pro Max | SE (3rd)
14 · 14 Plus · 14 Pro · 14 Pro Max | 15 · 15 Plus · 15 Pro · 15 Pro Max
16 · 16 Plus · 16 Pro · 16 Pro Max · 16e
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