Timeline: iPhone completes 9 years of its glorious journey

It has been nine years since Apple Inc launched its first smartphone, 'iPhone'. Since, it has been a ride of pride for the technology giant.

The craze for buying the device has always only ever headed upward, thanks to continuous innovations by Apple.

iPhone lovers around the globe now wait for September every year for the latest from the tech major.

 

Here is a look back on the Apple’s iPhone journey:

 

iPhone: Launched in 2007, the first smartphone by Apple Inc, wooed the world with its entirely touchscreen device. However, this wasn’t the first time that Apple launched a completely touchscreen-based gadget.  

It was under the leadership of Steve Jobs, the father of iPhone, who had a dream of doing away with the physical keyboard and mouse, that Apple came up with the technology in 2005.

In 2007, Jobs finally introduced Apple’s first iPhone. With this release, Apple became the first company to develop the hardware as well as the software for a mobile phone. 

 

 

 

iPhone 3G: After the massive success of the original iPhone, Apple went a step ahead and introduced its second generation. 

 

iPhone 3G was introduced on June 9, 2008, at the World Wide Developers' Conference (WWDC) in the US. The phone had a lot of new hardware features along with the latest software upgrades. The device ran on IOS 2.0 and with GPS and 3G support.

 

It was launched on July 11, the same year.

 

 

 

iPhone 3GS: This was the first time that Apple came up with its 'S'(speed) edition to the device. iPhone 3GS was the third generation iPhone which worked on technology similar to that of iPhone 3G, but with several improvements.

 

The phone was released with a lot of internal enhancements. It was two-times faster than its predecessor-- iPhone 3G -- and was also incorporated with an improved video camera and voice control technology.

 

However, the phone received a mixed response from the market as many tech experts termed the new additions as "not compelling" enough.

 

iPhone 4: This handset had already gained media attention even before its 2010 release, as it was the first time that Apple had launched two prototypes of the phone ahead of the actual launch.

 

iPhone 4 entered the market with the first-ever 'Retina' display -- a new technology to give better visual experience to the user -- and became the users' favourite device.  It became the first device to continue selling even after the launch of its successor, iPhone 4S.

 

Industry experts termed iPhone 4 as the "best in class" during the year 2010.

 

iPhone 4S: This phone received a tremendous reception as soon as it was launched in October 2011. A million handsets were sold within 20 hours of it was rolled out.

 

Here, "S" didn’t mean speed; rather, it meant 'Siri'. This was the first time Apple came up with a digital assistant for its customers. 'Siri' is a Norwegian female name that means 'beautiful, victorious counsellor'. Apple based its development of 'Siri' on precisely that premise.
 

 

iPhone 5: With this launch, Apple Inc broke its own record of selling over a million phones in a day, selling twice as many in 24 hours. 

The device worked on IOS 6. The already existing Siri was made a basic feature of the iPhone now, which made the device work on voice commands.

The critics praised iPhone 5, which was launched in 2012, for its high-resolution screen that was termed "the best in the market".

However, the new maps which replaced Google Maps in the device wasn’t as successful.

 

 

iPhone 5c: There were rumours that the "c" in the "iPhone5c", stood for "cheap". The market had long waited for a cheaper phone from Apple since the launch of it first smartphone, and the name, until clarified by the tech giant, led to wild rumours in the market.

"c" which is written in lower-case actually stood for "colours":  the tech major followed this up with the fifth generation touch iPads, which were also available in eye-catching colours.

iPhone5c came in blue, green, yellow, pink and white.

Launched in 2013, the phone also covered the price concerns of the market and was sold at a lower cost as compared to the other iPhones. The phone’s price, however, was close to the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

 

iPhone 5S: In 2013, Tech-crazy Apple fanboys finally found something to shout home about with the launch of iPhone 5S, a features-packed device that was a genuine upgrade to its predecessor iPhone 5.

A new home button with redesigned Touch ID and fingerprint support to unlock the App store and iTunes store were the key features of Apple’s new launch.

The device which ran on iOS 7 and received a huge commercial reception as over 9 million iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C models were sold within two days of launch.

 

 

iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Phone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus: 2014 was a historical year for Apple as it rolled out four variants in the same year.

The iPhone 6 series, which came with four phones, was a major satisfaction for the iPhone lovers. Four million devices were sold out within 24 hours of launch, and over 10 million were picked up in just three days.

The devices had a pre-loaded iOS 8 and were praised by experts for a "brilliant design".  The phone was also said to be the "best smartphone to buy". However, the plastic antenna strips on the rear were criticized.

It has been almost two years since the devices were launched, but they still command a huge share of the market.

 

 

 

iPhone SE: The latest model of the iPhone was launched in March, this year.

This comes in silver, space-grey, gold and rose-gold, and runs on the latest iOS 9.3.

After no launches in 2015, the device, launched in 2016, faced flak for allegedly copying the technology of a Chinese phone.  

The device still enjoys a good market share, even though its sales are banned in China.

The most attractive feature of the iPhone SE is the longer battery life.

 

 

iPhone 7: This massive launch is expected in September and social media is already overflowing with rumours and leaked images.