The smartphone industry is one of the fastest growing in the field of consumer electronics, influencing a huge number of people, their lifestyle, opening up new spaces in various fields of activity.
This article will focus on one of the most prominent representatives of the market. It presents the history of the iPhone, the evolution of the lineup and further development prospects.
iPhone 2G - an industry revolution
The first swallow, presented by Steve Jobs back in 2007, caused a flurry of criticism and perplexity. Then no one had ever imagined that a gadget was born that would turn the market upside down and ruin a number of companies involved in the creation of such devices. Apple has taken a surprisingly far-sighted and progressive step.
The smartphone, despite the fact that it looked surprisingly new, was received rather coldly. On the front panel of the device was located a huge at that time capacitive 3.5-inch display. Under the hood of the gadget was a single-core chip from Samsung and only 128 megabytes of RAM. The device was not functional, equipped with a weak two-megapixel camera.
The design of the device was distinguished by the premium quality of materials - aluminum was used instead of the classic plastic and polycarbonate.
iPhone 3G - oh brave world of apps!
The evolution of iPhones moved by leaps and bounds. A year later, the world was presented with a new gadget, with a more advanced filling and a new design. Apple abandoned the metal case in favor of a cheaper, curved plastic. This was the first device from Cupertino in which support for third-generation networks appeared.
But the technical characteristics did not matter, because the main innovation was the app store - AppStore. The developers have received tools to create their own software solutions for the iPhone. We did not have to wait long: already in the first weeks a huge amount of software was released in the store, allowing us to solve various problems that significantly expand the functional component of the phone.
iPhone 3Gs: S means “speed”
The evolution of the iPhone from the first to the last has always been accompanied by an increase in productivity. Capacity building has become as important as the emergence of new opportunities. In addition, many iPhone owners complained about its slowness.
In the novelty of 2009, there were no cardinal changes in the field of device design, but a new chip was installed with a frequency of 600 megahertz, the memory capacity was increased and the battery life was increased.
iPhone 4 - New Design
The fourth generation of the "apple" smartphone, perhaps the most famous. The device impressed everyone with a completely unique exterior. The use of glass in the design of the device at that time was new.
The most significant change was the display, which received a luxurious double resolution. Retina subpixel technology has become the world standard.
Also, a chip manufactured by Apple was first installed in the smartphone. The high-performance processor significantly increased the speed of the system and had a serious impact on the mobile gaming industry. Games like Infinity Blade, known for their console-level graphics, have appeared on the smartphone.
Alas, the evolution of iPhones is a story of ups and downs. The same smartphone became famous for a number of incidents that went down in history. For example, this is one of the first Apple gadgets, which became known even before its announcement, as one of the employees who had a prototype left it in a bar. The famous Antennagate was not in vain. The specific structure of the case, with a certain grip, blocked the connection, which subsequently resulted in a large-scale scandal.
iPhone 4s - Hey Siri
The first iPhone, which was already presented without Steve Jobs on stage, therefore, the release turned out to be rather sad. In addition to increased productivity and the longest support period in the history of smartphones, the phone was distinguished by a unique function at that time, namely the presence of a voice assistant, named Siri. The obedient mademoiselle, who settled in the iPhone, had a serious impact on the development of artificial intelligence, giving the highest quality hands-free, as well as giving the visually impaired touch the world of modern technology.
iPhone 5 - Faster, Stronger, Higher!
Left without a spiritual leader, Apple engineers continued on their own. The next novelty received quite serious changes in technical specifications. The heart of the smartphone has become a proprietary dual-core processor A6. The memory size has also increased, the amount of RAM has grown to one gigabyte.
In addition to technical growth, the smartphone underwent physical growth, the display became half an inch taller, while remaining comfortable to use with one hand, which the late Jobs passionately preached.
Along with the new smartphone, Apple has released completely new branded headphones with a specific shape - EarPods.
iPhone 5s - the first smartphone with a fingerprint sensor
Another proof that the evolution of iPhones is not only an improvement on one gadget, but also on the entire industry, was the device under the letter 5S. It was the first smartphone equipped with a fingerprint scanner. The approach to how people unlock and protect their smartphones has completely changed.
Of the technical innovations, it is worth highlighting the 64-bit processor architecture, which allowed to dramatically increase productivity and create new types of applications that are unusual for competitors.
Together with the iPhone 5s, his younger brother, iPhone5c, was born, which, in fact, became the reincarnation of the previous generation, made in a plastic case.
iPhone 6 - More, More!
In less than three years, Apple abandoned its principles regarding the size of the phone, but continued the tradition of releasing two gadgets at once. The iPhone 6 was equipped with a 4.7-inch display, and the iPhone 6 Plus - with a diagonal of 5.5. This fact greatly surprised the consumer, because the evolution of iPhones from the first to the sixth never reflected such fundamental innovations in design.
Historically, Apple gadgets that are not accompanied by the letter S usually do not carry technical innovations, the same goes for the sixth generation iPhone. The device received a new controversial design, but practically did not change technically.
Among the notable innovations, it is worth highlighting the appearance of an NFC chip, which foreshadowed the launch of the Apple Pay electronic payment system.
iPhone 6s - a new generation of displays
Almost unchanged in appearance, 6S, however, was able to surprise the audience with its modern technical characteristics. The smartphone was the most productive of all, and remains one to this day. Hiding under the aluminum cover: a new generation dual-core chip, two gigabytes of RAM, up to 128 gigabytes of flash memory and a massive battery up to 1800 milliampere-hours.
The highlight of the number was the 3D Touch display. The first display, capable of recognizing not only touches, but also full pressure, and pressure on the display panel. Thus, Apple managed to add a third dimension to its smartphones, significantly expanding the gadget's control capabilities.
It is important to note that the evolution of iPhones from 1 to 6s was an unprecedented indicator of growth, but something went wrong ...
iPhone SE - appeal to the roots
The evolution of iPhones from 1 to 6 made it clear to fans that one design decision never lingers for more than two years, but there was an exception to this rule.
After only six months, Apple, experiencing problems with the business, decided to make a move with his horse and release an old new device. To stop the drop in sales, the company sent a warm greetings to the fans from the past - iPhone 6s in an iPhone 5 case. This solution may seem ambiguous and even strange, but many fans have dreamed about this, ignoring all these years the so-called smartphones-shovels.
iPhone 7 - the future of smartphones
The evolution of iPhones from 1 to 7 was accompanied by powerful attacks from competitors and persecution among haters eager for the company of death. In fairness, it should be said that Apple had something to blame. Smartphones learned to shoot in the dark, shot with the effect of “boke”, worked for two days on a single charge and were not at all afraid of water. Due to growing competition, Apple had to go all-in, abandon design changes and focus on introducing the features that users have long been asking for.
The corporation has changed, Apple began to catch up, but what the company does not take away is its determination. The seventh-generation iPhone has lost its classic headphone jack. The company decided to give preference to wireless technology, releasing as an accessory a completely new, wireless analog EarPods, prudently renamed to AirPods.
User reviews
Despite the premium positioning of Apple gadgets, users have always been able to find many shortcomings. For example, short battery life. Plus version users have always complained about poor graphics performance and a drop in frame rate even in the simplest tasks (this childhood illness of large iPhones has not yet been resolved).
A special niche in the list of shortcomings of the iPhone is the closed operating system and incompatibility with most open standards.
The unique advantage of Apple gadgets recognized unique user experience. The thoughtful design of the software gives an unforgettable experience of simplicity and convenience, unusual for other manufacturers. Also important is the unprecedented level of device security.
Praise and the best in the history of gadgets assembly. The amazing beauty of the iPhone has always been revered among smartphone enthusiasts.
What's next?
The evolution of iPhones can tell a lot, tell the story of the development of modern technologies, point out the mistakes of competitors and Apple itself. Much more important is where to move on, because the smartphone market is in stagnation, it’s becoming more and more difficult to interest the user, the speed of work is simply incredible. Nevertheless, the problems are still the same, all the gadgets as one dream of an endless charge and artificial intelligence that can really solve important tasks, and not talk about the weather and movies that are going to rent. Most likely, it is in this direction that the market will develop. Smartphones will be fully focused on controlling artificial intelligence, and batteries from obsolete lithium-ion batteries will evolve into something completely new that can be charged by induction.
The main thing is that Apple finally gather their strengths and present something that will hit the whole world, and a couple of low-grade companies will once again curtail their business.