smartphones
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...
developed and marketed by
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
that run
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
, the company's own
mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system used for smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on the ...
. The
first-generation iPhone
The first-generation iPhone is the first smartphone developed and marketed by Apple Inc. After years of rumors and speculation, it was officially announced on January 9, 2007, and was released in the United States on June 29, 2007.
Develo ...
was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
on January 9, 2007, at
Macworld 2007
Macworld/iWorld (originally Macworld) was an information technology trade show with conference tracks dedicated to Apple Inc., Apple's Mac (computer), Mac platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. Originally ''Macworld Exp ...
, and launched later that year. Since then, Apple has annually released new
iPhone models
The iPhone, developed by Apple Inc., is a line of smartphones that combine a mobile phone, digital camera, personal computer, and music player into one device. Introduced by then-CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, the iPhone revolutionized the ...
and iOS versions; the most recent models being the
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are smartphones developed and marketed by Apple. They are the eighteenth-generation iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. The devices were announced alongside the higher-priced iPhone 16 Pro ...
and 16 Plus, alongside the higher-end
iPhone 16 Pro
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are high-end smartphones developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Alongside the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, they form the eighteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 ...
and 16 Pro Max, and the lower-end iPhone 16e (which replaces the iPhone SE). As of January 1, 2024, more than 2.3 billion iPhones have been sold, making Apple the largest vendor of mobile phones in 2023.
The original iPhone was the first mobile phone to use
multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one somatosensory system, point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CE ...
waterproofing
Waterproofing is the process of making an object, person or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resists the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet env ...
iPhone 8
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are smartphones developed and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the eleventh generation of the iPhone. The iPhone 8 was released on September 22, 2017, succeeding the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, respectively.
T ...
and 8 Plus, iPhones had a single button on the front panel, with the iPhone 5s and later integrating a
Touch ID
Touch ID is an electronic fingerprint recognition feature designed and released by Apple Inc.
History
In 2012, Apple acquired AuthenTec, a company focused on fingerprint-reading and identification management software, for $356 million. The acq ...
fingerprint sensor. Since the
iPhone X
The iPhone X (Roman numerals, Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the List of iPhone models, 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from September 26, 2 ...
, iPhone models have switched to a nearly bezel-less front screen design with
Face ID
Face ID is a Biometrics, biometric authentication facial recognition system, facial-recognition system designed and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone and iPad Pro. The system can be used for unlocking a device, making Apple Pay, payments, ac ...
facial recognition in place of Touch ID for authentication, and increased use of gestures in place of the home button for navigation.
The iPhone, which operates using Apple's
proprietary
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Android overtook the iPhone's installed base in 2010, according to
NPD Group
Circana, Inc., formerly known as Information Resources, Inc. and the NPD Group (previously National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.), is an American market research and technology company headquartered in Chicago. In 2017, NPD ra ...
. During Apple's
earnings call
An earnings call is a teleconference or webcast in which a public company discusses its financial results for a reporting period, often providing earnings guidance for future performance. The term stems from earnings per share (EPS), calculated ...
on January 27, 2021, Tim Cook said that 1 billion iPhones were being actively used worldwide.
Emerging markets
While other manufacturers make separate entry-level phones, Apple's entry-level phones are the previous years' models, part of an effort to increase its market share in emerging markets without diluting its premium brand. It also considers emerging market tastes in its product designs; for example, it introduced a gold iPhone after finding that gold was seen as a popular sign of a luxury product among Chinese customers. In 2017, Apple started manufacturing previous years' iPhone models in India; in 2022, it began manufacturing the current iPhone 14 there too. Analysts have speculated that this was partly caused by Apple's desire to reduce its dependence on China, and to overcome Indian import duties. In 2023, the Chinese government banned the use of iPhones by government civil servants in what was seen as an effort to reduce dependence on foreign technology and strengthen cybersecurity.
In May 2024 Iranian president Mokhber banned imported iPhone 14 and newer models, in November the ban was lifted and replaced with 30% customs tariff to the phones.
See also
*
Apple Newton
The Newton is a specified standard and series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Computer, Inc. from 1993 to 1998. An early device in the PDA categorythe term itself originating with the Newtonit w ...
, an early personal digital assistant and the first tablet platform developed by Apple