On April 1, 1976, Apple Inc. was founded, with Stephen G. Wozniak and Steve Jobs beginning their operations in Jobs' garage. Over the next five decades, Apple went on to deliver stunning innovations — none more iconic than the iPhone. Whether it was the original iPhone — whose “touch” replaced physical keypads — or iPhone X — which saw the biggest reinvention of the iPhone, Apple's devices have been special and close to the heart of their users. Here's a look at iPhones from the past (and some from the present) — and what made them remarkable.
iPhone
It all started with a small, quaint-looking device with a 3.5-inch display and a meagre-by-today's-standards 2MP camera that Steve Jobs held on Jan. 9, 2007. It was called the iPhone — and it redefined phones forever by introducing touchscreen at a time when BlackBerrys ruled with their button keypad. Since then, billions of touchscreen smartphones have entered people's lives — making tactile buttons a thing of the past.
iPhone 4
The iPhone 4 was singular in many reasons (one not so great). It swapped the plastic back of the iPhone 3GS with a beautiful glass rear and ultra-thin form. It was the first iPhone to get a front camera, powering video calling through FaceTime. The Retina display boasted four times the pixel count of the 3GS and an unparalleled pixel density. However, the iPhone 4 became notorious for “Antennagate.” Apple's “you're holding it wrong” response was infamous after users reported poor connectivity — a problem arising when the iPhone 4's antenna gap got covered with users' hands. Eventually, Apple introduced the “Bumper” to avoid that from happening.
iPhone 5c
The iPhone 5c was Apple's first “budget-friendly” iPhone. It departed from the premium metal make of earlier iPhones and aluminium on the iPhone 5 and 5s to introduce a plastic (glossy polycarbonate) body. The iPhone 5c was also unique for coming in everything from green and blue to yellow and pink. It was also the last iPhone to feature a 4-inch display.
iPhone 6
Three days after their release, over 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were gobbled up by Apple fans — a record at that time. Apple had made a massive shift in screen size, upgrading from the 4-inch display of the iPhone 5s to 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch ones on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The design language also changed, with the 6 line chucking the boxy frame to introduce curved edges, not to mention a thinner body.
iPhone X
The iPhone X was the most radical redesign of the iPhone. It was the first iPhone with a full-framed OLED display. The iPhone X was also the first to incorporate Face ID (replacing the Touch ID), which revolutionised authentication. It came without a physical home button and shifted to a swipe-based navigation system (again a first for iPhones) and the first to include impressive AR features. Cameras were vertically aligned, and Portrait Lighting was introduced.
iPhone SE
At a time when iPhones were getting increasingly expensive, Apple launched the iPhone SE in 2016, bringing the same top-tier chipset compact design at an affordable price point. It costed a mere $399 and opened the door to Apple's ecosystem for more users.
iPhone 13 Pro
The iPhone 13 Pro range was special for debuting ProMotion, with an adaptive refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz that made for improved responsiveness and smoother scrolling. Camera system got more pro, and the iPhone was now capable of macro photography. Cinematic Mode was introduced, delivering videos with beautiful depth-of-field.
iPhone 17 Pro
The iPhone 17 Pro doesn't need the same “remembrance!” Lest we forget, the latest Pro range brought a few firsts. Not everyone loved the chunky camera island that spanned the phone's width (it was nonetheless a major design revamp). It packed a bigger battery and a 48MP telephoto with 8x optical zoom (a first for iPhones). The eye-catching orange was also a breather from the bland blacks and greys that the Pros usually came clad in.
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