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iPhone (Original)

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The History of the Original iPhone (2007 Model)

Introduction

In 2007, Apple unveiled the iPhone, a product that revolutionized the smartphone market. Steve Jobs declared, “Today, we’re going to reinvent the phone,” introducing it as “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough Internet communications device—three things in one.” At a time when most phones assumed physical keyboards or stylus input, the first iPhone adopted finger‑driven multi‑touch and a simple screen‑centric design, delivering an intuitive user experience. Released in the United States on June 29, 2007, the original iPhone drew enormous attention even before launch; on release day, long lines formed at Apple Stores, and some locations sold out the same day. Its innovation was widely recognized, and TIME named it the “Invention of the Year” for 2007. In this article, we focus specifically on the original iPhone (2007 model) and explain its development history, product specifications, and its reception and impact after launch.

Development Background and the First Generation

Behind the development of the first iPhone was Jobs’s vision for “a multi‑touch device you can operate directly with your fingers.” Around 2000, Jobs conceived of a touchscreen product that could be used intuitively with fingers rather than a pen‑style stylus, and decided to adopt then‑cutting‑edge multilayer capacitive multi‑touch technology. By eliminating physical keyboards and mice, this approach opened up new possibilities for user interfaces that let people manipulate the screen directly on handheld devices. Inside Apple, full‑scale development progressed from around 2005 under a top‑secret project called “Project Purple,” and the company forged an unprecedentedly close partnership with U.S. carrier Cingular Wireless (now AT&T). Although development reportedly cost $150 million over 30 months, Apple—mindful of the failure of its earlier Motorola ROKR E1 collaboration (an example of “design by committee”)—chose to design the hardware and software entirely under its own control. The carrier prioritized Apple’s development freedom over its own demands, granting Apple unusually broad latitude. The finished iPhone was unveiled by Jobs in the Macworld Expo keynote on January 9, 2007. As Jobs himself said—“I’ve been looking forward to this day for two and a half years”—the iPhone debuted to great attention as a device that fused a phone, an iPod, and an Internet communicator.

Preparations Leading Up to Launch

In the run‑up to launch, Apple obsessed over the enclosure design and materials. About six weeks before the announcement, Jobs was incensed when a prototype’s plastic screen was scratched by keys, and he abruptly ordered the switch to strengthened glass. The change triggered a hurried selection of manufacturing partners, and Foxconn was tapped to build the device. Working with Corning in the U.S., Apple sourced a robust specialty glass (later known as “Gorilla Glass”), enabling an all‑glass front display that was unusual for phones at the time. After this meticulous development and preparation, the original iPhone reached the market in mid‑2007.

Product Line and Model‑by‑Model History

Original iPhone (2007)

The original iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007. Initially offered with a two‑year contract on AT&T, the 4GB model was priced at $499 and the 8GB model at $599. It was so popular that many stores sold out in under an hour. In November of the same year it launched in the U.K., Germany, and France, and by spring 2008 it had expanded to several other European countries. In Canada, Australia, Japan, and elsewhere, the first‑generation model was not officially released; those markets waited for the next generation, the “iPhone 3G” (in Japan, differences in network standards were also a factor in skipping the original). Key features of the first‑generation model included:

  • Chassis — A two‑tone silver‑and‑black design. The back was made of silver aluminum alloy, with a black plastic section at the bottom for radio transmission—an intentional structure to avoid interference from the metal enclosure, with the antenna housed along the boundary between the aluminum and plastic. At launch, storage options were 4GB and 8GB, with the latter as the higher‑priced model (a 16GB version was added the following year). The device measured 11.6 mm thick and weighed 135 g, thin and light for a phone of its time.

  • Display — A 3.5‑inch multi‑touch display (320×480 pixels, 163 ppi). The screen was large and relatively high‑resolution for the era. Using a capacitive touch panel, it became the first mobile phone to adopt multi‑touch gestures in a full‑fledged way, such as pinch‑to‑zoom. The screen was switched from plastic to glass just before launch, improving scratch resistance (the iPhone pioneered the use of strengthened glass on commercial smartphones).

  • Interface — Physical inputs were kept to a minimum: a circular Home button on the front, volume buttons and a ring/silent switch on the side, and a power/sleep button on top. Text entry and operations were performed through an on‑screen software keyboard and touch UI, eliminating a hardware keyboard—another groundbreaking move. On the bottom, it featured the iPod‑style 30‑pin dock connector for charging and syncing over USB. It also had a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, but the jack was recessed into the body, so many third‑party headphones could not be plugged in directly without an adapter. There was no user‑replaceable battery and no expandable storage (no memory card slot)—a design that would later become common in smartphones.

  • Connectivity — Cellular service supported GSM quad‑band, with data up to 2.5G EDGE (top speeds of a few hundred kbps). It did not support 3G (UMTS/HSPA), which would arrive with its successor. Wi‑Fi supported IEEE 802.11b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR handled short‑range connectivity to accessories. There was no GPS; the Maps app estimated location using cell‑tower triangulation. Features common on Japanese phones of the time, such as infrared data transfer and One‑Seg mobile TV, were not included.

  • Other Features — A 2‑megapixel rear camera supported still photos, but there was no autofocus or flash, and no video recording. There was no front‑facing camera, and no video calling. Built‑in sensors included a three‑axis accelerometer, proximity sensor, and ambient light sensor for auto‑rotation, turning the screen off by the ear, and automatic brightness adjustment. The OS, “iPhone OS,” was based on Mac OS X; it launched at version 1.0 with Visual Voicemail, HTML email, the Safari browser, a YouTube app, Google Maps, and core apps like contacts, calendar, and notes. Missing features—MMS, copy & paste, Flash playback, and any official way to install third‑party apps (the later App Store did not yet exist)—sparked a wave of unofficial modifications (“jailbreaking”). Apple later added features through software updates; the original model remained supported up to iPhone OS 3.1.3 (2010).

After launch, the first‑generation model saw several minor changes through late 2007 and 2008. In September 2007, alongside the debut of the iPod touch, Apple cut the 8GB iPhone’s price from $599 to $399 and discontinued the 4GB entry model. Facing complaints from early buyers who had paid the higher price, Apple offered eligible customers a $100 store credit to defuse the situation. On February 5, 2008, Apple added a 16GB model that doubled the top capacity. In March of the same year, Apple released the official iPhone SDK, laying the groundwork for third‑party apps. In June 2008, Apple announced the second‑generation iPhone 3G, which went on sale July 11 in 22 countries (Japan’s first official iPhone). The original iPhone was discontinued four days later, on July 15, 2008, concluding a life cycle of a little over one year.

Reception

From the moment it launched, the original iPhone became a global sensation and was generally well received by technology commentators and users. Apple provided review units to just four prominent journalists, and those reviews praised its innovative UI and design. Critics also noted shortcomings: lack of 3G (sticking with EDGE), no MMS, and no copy & paste were significant knocks on the software side. In his review for The Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg wrote that, although there were flaws and missing features, overall it was “a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer.” TIME ranked iPhone #1 in its “Top 10 Inventions” of the year, calling it “a true computer you can hold in your hand.”

Reception varied by region. In the U.S., it sold 1 million units in the first 74 days and surpassed 4 million by January 2008. By Q4 2007, Apple had climbed to #2 in the U.S. smartphone market behind BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM), overtaking then‑dominant Windows Mobile vendors. The first‑generation iPhone is estimated to have sold around 6.12 million units worldwide. In Europe, initial buzz was strong, but there was also a view that “its drawbacks were as notable as its strengths,” and it did not reach the explosive popularity seen in the U.S.; in the U.K. and Germany, launch‑weekend sales were seen by some as less spectacular than the hype suggested, and one British site even revised an initial perfect score down to three stars after reader feedback. In Japan, although the original iPhone was not officially sold, it attracted early attention among tech enthusiasts. Japanese feature phones (so‑called “garakei”) offered distinctive local features like mobile wallet (Osaifu‑Keitai), One‑Seg TV, and high‑resolution cameras (5 megapixels and above at the time), so some observers were skeptical of an iPhone lacking those functions. After the iPhone 3G’s Japanese debut, however, its refined browser, music player, and intuitive operation helped it gain broader acceptance.

The original iPhone also sparked debate about what constitutes a “smartphone.” Because third‑party apps couldn’t be installed at launch, some experts argued it was, for the moment, a high‑end feature phone rather than a true smartphone. With the 2008 debut of the App Store and a robust app ecosystem, that criticism faded. The direction set by the original iPhone—smartphone as a powerful pocket computer—influenced every device that followed. The iPhone’s success propelled Apple into the ranks of the world’s most valuable companies, and iPhone became the company’s flagship business. More than 15 years on, the iPhone line continues to be updated annually and loved worldwide. Over that time, the smartphone landscape has been transformed; once‑dominant BlackBerry and Japan’s unique feature‑phone culture have waned. The “touch‑first, full‑screen smartphone” concept pioneered by the original iPhone is now the industry standard.

Notably, the original iPhone has grown in historical and collector value. In 2023, a sealed first‑generation iPhone went to auction and fetched about $190,000 (over ¥20 million), underscoring the model’s lasting impact on technology history.

Main Models, Release Years, and Key Features

2007: Original iPhone

Apple’s first smartphone. Supported 2G (GSM/EDGE) and introduced finger‑driven multi‑touch and a simplified touch UI that opened a new era for mobile phones. It featured a 3.5‑inch display and aluminum enclosure, and came in 4GB and 8GB versions (a 16GB model was added the following year). There was no App Store at first—users relied on web apps—but its intuitive operation and integrated‑device concept redefined what a phone could be.

2008: iPhone 3G

The second generation built on the original’s concept and added third‑generation cellular (3G: UMTS/HSDPA). Data speeds roughly doubled, and integrated GPS enabled stronger location‑based services. iPhone OS advanced to version 2.0, and the App Store launched, allowing users to install third‑party apps freely. The back switched to polycarbonate (white or black), and pricing dropped dramatically (the 8GB model at $199). It rolled out to 70+ countries, turning iPhone into a global hit.

2009: iPhone 3GS

The third generation. Building on the 3G, Apple said the “S” stood for “Speed.” A faster CPU and more memory roughly doubled performance, improving responsiveness. The camera advanced to 3 megapixels with autofocus and, for the first time, supported video recording (VGA at 30 fps). A digital compass (magnetometer) enabled automatic map orientation, and voice control was added. Externally it resembled the 3G, but internal upgrades made it much snappier.

2010: iPhone 4

A major leap forward—the biggest since the original. The design was completely overhauled: strengthened glass on front and back with a stainless‑steel band, and just 9.3 mm thick—among the world’s thinnest smartphones at the time. It introduced the “Retina display,” a high‑resolution screen (960×640, 326 ppi) with pixels indistinguishable to the naked eye. The camera was greatly improved to 5 megapixels with LED flash, and a front camera appeared for the first time, enabling FaceTime video calls and 720p HD video recording. Apple’s A4 chip and a three‑axis gyroscope boosted performance and sensor capabilities, further elevating the smartphone’s overall completeness and sparking massive popularity.

Conclusion

The original iPhone elevated the concept of a “phone” into that of a computer, profoundly impacting the mobile industry. It dispensed with T9 keypads and styluses and established a finger‑first multi‑touch UI whose significance is hard to overstate. Since then, smartphones worldwide have adopted full‑screen touch panels and app‑store ecosystems, and handheld devices have evolved from telephones into pocket‑sized computers. Apple itself grew dramatically on the iPhone’s success and now leads the smartphone industry. Today, new iPhones arrive yearly; cameras have leapt ahead in resolution and capability, connectivity is hundreds of times faster with 5G, and displays are larger and sharper. Yet the design philosophy first shown by the original iPhone—“a simple, easy‑to‑use interface” and “tight integration of hardware and software”—remains at the core of the line. The innovation and shock delivered by the original iPhone will continue to be recounted in the history of mobile technology.

First-generation iPhone (2007 model) — References

1) Wikipedia (English & Japanese)

2) Apple official (Newsroom / Support / regional releases)

3) Initial reviews / major media reporting (around 2007)

4) Behind the scenes / material change (plastic → glass)

5) Headphone jack (“recessed” 3.5 mm) — primary & contemporaneous materials

6) Official sources & reporting used for successor comparisons

7) Collectors’ market (factory-sealed first-gen iPhone sold at high prices)

8) Peripheral supplement (afterstory of the era when the YouTube default app was removed)

9) Spec compilation sites (auxiliary references to primary information)

2007

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