January 9 is a historic day for Apple and the tech world. On this date 15 years ago, Steve Jobs showed off the first iPhone at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, California.
Wearing his favorite black turtleneck top, Jobs introduced the iPhone as three revolutionary products in one package: a large-screen iPod with touch controls, a cell phone, and an internet communication device.
"Today, Apple will reinvent the phone," Jobs said in his legendary keynote speech, as quoted by MacRumors, Monday (10/1/2022).
When it was launched, the first generation iPhone was a device that was no bigger than the palm of a hand. The touch screen is 3.5 inches with a resolution of 480 x 320.
The first generation iPhone is also equipped with a 2 MP rear camera, up to 16GB of internal memory and a 30-pin connector. The physical Home button below the screen and the 3.5mm headphone jack still adorn this phone.
iPhone at that time was sold at a price of USD 499 for the lowest variant which has 4GB of internal memory. The new phone went on sale on June 29, 2007.
While other smartphones of its era relied on a physical keyboard or stylus, the iPhone immediately caught the eye thanks to its larger screen design and multi-touch operation.
Since 2007, the iPhone has undergone many changes, both from the exterior to the internal design. Changes in the iPhone have also become a trend and are followed by other mobile phone vendors, such as when the iPhone 7 removed the headphone jack.
In January 2021, Apple said there were currently one billion active iPhone users worldwide. The success of the iPhone even led Apple to become the first company in the world to reach a market valuation of USD 3 trillion.
Now Apple is preparing the iPhone 14 which is likely to be released in the fall of this year. This new generation of iPhone is predicted to eliminate the notch design and replace it with a punch-hole display to present a larger screen.
To commemorate the birthday of the iPhone, you can watch Steve Jobs' keynote speech when he introduced the phone that changed the world 15 years ago.
