5 amazing facts – including NO App Store at launch

Apple’s iconic iPhone is finally 15 years old – marking an important milestone in the field of consumer technology.

This world-renowned gadget has forever earned its place in popular culture and continues to endlessly capture our time and money.

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The late Apple founder, Steve Jobs, announced the phone on January 9, 2007.

It wasn’t announced until June 29 of the same year, but the announcement is an unforgettable part of the device’s history.

Jobs abandoned the stylus and hailed the touch screen without the keyboard as the future of computing. He’s not wrong.

But how well do you really remember that original Iphone paradigm?

No App Store at launch

We take apps for granted these days, but they weren’t always delivered.

In fact, the original iPhone didn’t have an App Store at launch.

That happened then in 2008.

The iPhone already has apps on it – Apple offers apps like Phone, Calendar, Weather, Notes, and more.

But you can’t install third-party apps through the official Apple App Store until July 2008.

At launch, the iPhone lacked a lot of features, including a front-facing camera for selfies, video recording, and even a flashlight.

In the absence of a flashlight, some early iPhone apps let you set the white screen to maximum brightness. Not quite the same…

It only has 4GB of memory

The original iPhone had a small 4GB of storage.

At the time, it didn’t feel so terrible because the image size was smaller, the application burden was much lighter, and the internet speed was still quite slow.

That is in stark contrast to today, when current iPhones start at 128GB and go all the way up to a whopping 1TB on some models.

Screen is only 3.5 inches

When the iPhone came out, it had a tiny 3.5-inch screen.

It’s the measurement diagonally from corner to corner.

And it’s really hard to believe we’ve used such small screens.

For comparison, today’s iPhones typically range from 5.8 inches to 6.7 inches across.

It turns out that people love using their iPhones to watch TV, play games, and scroll through TikTok videos – so a good screen is now essential.

People think it will never catch up

Today, the iPhone is just a part of life. It is inconceivable that it would not exist.

But when it was first rumored – and then released – Apple was mocked by many.

People joke about making phone calls on a glorified iPod and claim that the lack of a physical keyboard will never pick up.

Of course, the same thing happened when the iPad came out and so did the Apple Watch.

Apple has since dominated all three product categories, ultimately proving opponents wrong.

It’s only $499

When the original iPhone launched, it retailed for $499.

That might seem like a bargain these days, but inflation brings it closer to $669 than it is today.

It’s actually cheaper than the iPhone 13, which costs $799.

But you can buy a 2nd generation iPhone SE for $399.99 right now – with technology far superior to the original iPhone.

So while iPhone prices have spiked up to $1,500 for some models, it’s not the case for every variant.

This is all thanks to Apple diversifying from having just one iPhone model to four or five models a year.

So there is something for everyone. Except, of course, for the deadly Android.

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