• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

[AP] iPhone Released 15 Years Ago Today

What was your first iPhone?

  • OG iPhone

  • iPhone 3G / 3GS

  • iPhone 4 / 4S

  • iPhone 5 / 5S / 5C

  • iPhone 6 / 6+ / 6S / 6S+

  • iPhone SE 1st or 2nd Gen

  • iPhone 7 / 7+

  • iPhone 8 / 8+

  • iPhone X / XS / XS Max / XR

  • iPhone 11 / 11 Pro / 11 Pro Max

  • iPhone 12 / 12 Pro / 12 Pro Max / 12 Mini

  • iPhone 13 / 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max / 13 Mini

  • I've never owned an iPhone


Results are only viewable after voting.

Von Hugh

Member
Nokia bros, can I have a hug?

I think the iPhone's place in history is overhyped. It was first yes, but that there were a few other devices before it that did much of the same stuff and that other companies made similar devices so soon afterwards just shows that it really was just going where the technology was going. You don't make that stuff in a mere few months.

Yeah. Arguably plenty of those iPhone features can already be seen here, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyDevice

Swipe gestures, big touch screen, no stylus. And it was presented to Steve back in 2002 also.
 

35cent

Member
Most overrated device ever. I swapped my Nokia N73 for my Mum's iphone back in 2008 as a birthday present and man did I regret it soon after. No video calling or even video recording, no bluetooth file transfer (used to use that a lot back then), no expandable memory, the camera didn't have a flash for some bizarre reason. It was easy to unsilence the phone in your pocket by accident because they put it in a stupid place. Even the sound quality for voice calls was absolutely dreadful. I remember having to hang up on someone and calling them on another phone as I couldn't understand a work of what they were saying. Could hear them fine on the other phone though. The POS didn't even have 3G FFS. I left it on a bus a few months later and couldn't give a fuck. I got another N73 to replace it.

The only good thing about that shite phone is that it gives me a good example to explain the term all style no substance. Needless to say I haven't owned another iphone ever since. Horrible phone.
 

Cyberpunkd

Member
Nokia bros, can I have a hug?

I think the iPhone's place in history is overhyped. It was first yes, but that there were a few other devices before it that did much of the same stuff and that other companies made similar devices so soon afterwards just shows that it really was just going where the technology was going. You don't make that stuff in a mere few months.
But the iOS was unmatched, this is what won instead of carrier bloatware.
 

Dural

Member
Well android is more expensive now then iphone.

Not only that, the resale value of an iPhone is way higher than any Android phone. It's one of the reasons I switched, got sick of just throwing away my Android phone every two years because it was worthless at that point. Whenever a new iPhone is released, there are trade-in deals where you can get the new iPhone for like $200.
 

HeadsUp7Up

Member
Yeah. Arguably plenty of those iPhone features can already be seen here, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyDevice

Swipe gestures, big touch screen, no stylus. And it was presented to Steve back in 2002 also.
What changed the game was using a capacitive touch screen instead of resistive like everything else on the market before. I was in college when it came out and a guy had one and he let me check it our for a few minutes. My Treo had a ton of features but I wanted to throw it in the river after using a capacitive touchscreen for the first time.
 

Tams

Member
But the iOS was unmatched, this is what won instead of carrier bloatware.
In terms of simplicity, yes.

But there were (and are, hell some of the old ones still are) more capable OSes out there. And they were at most tangentially related to the bloatware. Bloatware is just apps.

Did you ever use Windows Mobile 6 (especially with HTC's skin)? What about Symbian? Or Maemo/Meego?
 
Last edited:

Elysion

Banned
My first iPhone was the 3g model from 2008. Used it for almost 10(!) years before getting a Samsung Galaxy, lol. The user experience was pretty unparalleled as far as mobile devices were concerned, at least back in 08.

I wonder what the next big ‘thing’ will be in terms of mobile hardware. Maybe a device that is foldable and bendable to such a degree that it can used as a smartphone when folded, as a tablet when unfolded, and even be worn as a kind of bracelet when folded around the wrist – thus taking the role of phone, tablet and smart watch all in one? I’m sure we’re pretty close to stuff that would’ve seemed very scifi fifteen years ago.
 

V1LÆM

Gold Member
still remember it being announced. it was mind blowing that it was an ipod that could make calls and access the internet outside. anyone who was too young to remember or not even alive in 2007 won't understand how much of a different world it was back then. ipods were the popular music device and you had to either buy your music from itunes, rip it from cds, or get it by other means (argh har har). mobile phones were kinda popular but they were used for phone calls, sending text messages, or taking shitty low resolution photos. if you wanted to go online you most likely would go home and use your laptop/desktop which was wired to the modem. mobile data did exist but it was very unusual to see anyone use the internet outside.

the iphone definitely wasn't the first smartphone but it was the one that kicked the market off. the iphone merged the ipod and mobile phone into one device but most importantly made mobile internet what it is today. the iphone didn't launch with an appstore so if you wanted to access your facebook or twitter (which were becoming popular at the time) you had to do it through the browser. you could watch youtube videos with the built in app. after the iphone the biggest thing apple done was open the app store...there was really nothing like it at the time. stuff like instagram, spotify, tiktok, uber, snapchat, whatsapp, etc either didn't exist at all or were nothing like that they are today.

you might hate on the iphone and you can think whatever you want of Steve Jobs but there is no denying how much the iPhone changed our world. it really feels like a before/after situation. the world was very different <2007 and while the iPhone wasn't always the first to do something it was the first to get it right. it came at the perfect time and packaged everything up properly. it's been a success and it's hard to imagine what the other time would be like if it didn't exist.

My first iPhone was the 3g model from 2008. Used it for almost 10(!) years before getting a Samsung Galaxy, lol. The user experience was pretty unparalleled as far as mobile devices were concerned, at least back in 08.

I wonder what the next big ‘thing’ will be in terms of mobile hardware. Maybe a device that is foldable and bendable to such a degree that it can used as a smartphone when folded, as a tablet when unfolded, and even be worn as a kind of bracelet when folded around the wrist – thus taking the role of phone, tablet and smart watch all in one? I’m sure we’re pretty close to stuff that would’ve seemed very scifi fifteen years ago.
i think it's gonna be AR/VR headsets. facebook seem like they are desperate to make it happen and apple is gonna release a headset soon (apparently it will be just as powerful as the current iPad Pro/iMac). there is so much potential for it to have an impact just like the iphone did...maybe even greater. iphone made mobile internet a thing and got us all hooked to our smartphones. if headsets become popular it could drastically change our world again (for better or worse). imagine living in an augmented world or a different world completely. it will be marketed as something exciting but it's a slippery slope. if smartphones kept our eyes glued to our phones then headsets will glued to our faces.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

TransTrender

Gold Member
No one in tech anywhere on Earth had or has the stage charisma Steve did.
Oh I beg to differ
ICaPuco.gif

LOL that fuckin flop sweat
 
Last edited:

tommib

Banned
First one was a 4S and coming from some Xperia Android I had at the time it was like putting wheels on a horse carriage. I had plenty of iPods before and even MacBooks but iPhones were really expensive compared to what was on the market then and had mandatory carrier subscriptions. I'm now on an iPhone 11 Pro Max that hopefully will last at least 3 more years. Every time someone passes me an Android to do something on it I immediately get Vietnam flashbacks and would never go back to that bloated and slow piece of Google crap.
 
Last edited:

Tams

Member
First one was a 4S and coming from some Xperia Android I had at the time it was like putting wheels on a horse carriage. I had plenty of iPods before and even MacBooks but iPhones were really expensive compared to what was on the market then and had mandatory carrier subscriptions. I'm now on an iPhone 11 Pro Max that hopefully will last at least 3 more years. Every time someone passes me an Android to do something on it I immediately get Vietnam flashbacks and would never go back to that bloated and slow piece of Google crap.
Android is somewhat a wasteful OS, but frankly it's fine now for everyday use.

So there's really no need to be so immature. Of course, if you want to stay in Apple Land, well that's your choice.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
And the world is worse off for it.


Never owned one. Never will.
I never owned one before now. I got 13 pro and it's pretty amazing how fast and sleek everything is.... Makes me question wtf is wrong with android.
At the same time I am mad at myself for "joining the cult mentality"
But what else? samsung is the same and I dont want chinese made
 

crozier

Member
SE was my first. Before that, I never really wanted an iPhone.

I had a Motorola Droid, then a Casio G'zOne, then a Windows HTC Trophy (achievements!), and finally an SE. This is my favorite phone thus far. Everything about it just works, which is refreshing for technology.
 

8bitpill

Member
I was there when the first one release. Bought it the summer of 2007
HKi-Lr.mp4


I just remember it was annoying to use it in public around friends and at the bar. People would ask to see it because it a bit of a marvel at that point.
 
Top Bottom