The Original iPhone: A Look Back at 10 Years of Evolution

Hey guys, this is Austin. The original iPhone is 10 years old today, but how have things changed over the last decade? Taking a look at the original iPhone today, what jumps out to me is that it actually doesn't seem to have changed that much over the years. So, it's still made out of aluminum, it still has the same sort of general shape of the current iPhone. Yeah, it's a lot smaller, but they actually did get a lot of stuff right the first time.

Side by side with the iPhone 7, there is a very clear evolution here. The design and build quality really do hold up today, and that is not something you can say about other smartphones from the time. There are definitely some issues with the original iPhone though. One of the big ones was that it only supported 2G network, which was weird in a time that 3G was becoming a lot more popular. Because of that, when AT&T shut off their 2G network earlier this year, it meant that the original iPhone, short of trying to unlock it, is no longer usable as a phone.

There are also some weird quirks like the recessed headphone jack. So because of how the phone was designed with this taper, a normal pair of headphones actually will not fit in. You're going to need some kind of extender. The biggest issue with the original iPhone though was price. When this came out back in 2007, it cost $600. And that was on contract! That's pretty much unheard of today.

Now to be fair, a couple months later, Apple did drop the price to $400, as well as discontinuing the skimpy little 4 gigabyte model, but still, this was an incredibly expensive phone back in the day. All this makes a lot more sense though, when you look at it compared to other smartphones of the time. So, the iPhone looks pretty clean, and to be honest, not that different from phones today. It's very sleek, it's very minimal.

Whereas something like the Sidekick, which is a popular smartphone of the day, looks a lot more busy. It's easy to forget just how big of deal phones like the Sidekick were back in the day. Oh yeah, it actually did have the super cool sliding mechanism, almost like a modern-day fidget spinner. Nicely timed Ken. But when you look at it, it's such a different design, it really does feel a lot older than the iPhone.

Another major competitor was the Nokia N95. Now while this does definitely look like it's straight out of 2007, there are actually a lot of cool things that this could do the iPhone couldn't. One of the main ones was actually the camera. The iPhone did have a camera, but this actually has a pretty solid 5 megapixel auto-focus camera. It also has a little shutter thing, which is kinda cool.

It also had a front-facing camera, which the iPhone didn't get until the iPhone 4, it supported 3G, and to top it all off, it had not only T9 when you slide it up, when you slide it down, you actually had media controls. Selfie time! (shutter click) Alright, that's a little crunchy, but gotta focus here, and (shutter click) That actually doesn't look bad. Honestly, this is probably a little bit better than some budget smartphones I've tried recently.

Move over to the iPhone and you'll see a whole different story. The original iPhone was a game-changer in the smartphone world. It introduced multi-touch technology, a mobile app store, and a sleek design that would influence future iPhones for years to come. But how did it do all this? Well, let's take a closer look at what made it tick.

The original iPhone was built with a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, a 2 megapixel camera, and a processor that Apple had developed specifically for the phone. It also had 4GB of storage, which was a lot back in the day but not enough to hold all your music and apps. Despite its limitations, the original iPhone was still an incredible piece of technology.

One way to get an idea of just how important the original iPhone was is by taking a look at it compared to modern smartphones. The camera on the original iPhone, for example, would be laughable compared to the cameras found in most modern phones. But that's okay - Apple learned from its mistakes and kept improving the camera over time.

After ten years, it's hard to argue with how important this iPhone was. Pretty much any modern smartphone today owes at least something to the OG. The original iPhone may not have been the biggest or the best looking phone on the market back in 2007, but it definitely had a lot going for it. And as we look back on its legacy, we can see just how influential it has been on the world of smartphones.

The original iPhone was also meant to be a test bed for new technologies and ideas that Apple would later implement in future iPhones. It included features like video recording, voice control, and a full web browser, all of which were considered cutting-edge at the time.

But perhaps one of the coolest features on this prototype is its ability to boot up quickly, thanks to some clever hardware tweaks by Apple engineers. This feature was meant to allow users to see if the touchscreen was working properly before they even got their hands on it. And let me tell you, that's something we can all relate to - getting our first smartphone and trying to figure out how to get it to work.

There's also a full diagnostic menu in this prototype that shows everything from WiFi, Bluetooth, the accelerometer, and the camera buttons. This was meant for testing purposes, but it gives us a glimpse into just how much Apple had planned for its early smartphones.

So, what do you guys think about the original iPhone? Let me know in the comments below and I will catch you on the next one.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.The original iPhone isten years old today,but how have things changedover the last decade?Taking a look at theoriginal iPhone today,what jumps out to me is thatit actually doesn't seemto have changed that much over the years.So it's still made out of aluminum,it still has the samesort of general shapeof the current iPhone.Yeah, it's a lot smaller,but they actually didget a lot of stuff rightthe first time.Side by side with the iPhone 7,there is a very clear evolution here.The design and build qualityreally do hold up today,and that is not somethingyou can say aboutother smartphones from the time.There are definitely some issues withthe original iPhone though.One of the big ones was thatit only supported 2G network,which was weird in a time that3G was becoming a lot more popular.Because of that, when AT&T shut offtheir 2G network earlier this year,it meant that the original iPhone,short of trying to unlock it,is no longer usable as a phone.There are also some weird quirkslike the recessed headphone jack.So because of how the phonewas designed with this taper,a normal pair of headphonesactually will not fit in.You're going to needsome kind of extender.The biggest issue with theorignial iPhone though was price.When this came out backin 2007, it cost $600.And that was on contract!That's pretty much unheard of today.Now to be fair, a couple months later,Apple did drop the price to $400,as well as discontinuing theskimpy little 4 gigabyte model,but still, this was anincredibly expensive phoneback in the day.All this makes a lot more sense,though, when you look at it comparedto other smartphones of the time.So the iPhone looks prettyclean, and to be honest,not that different from phones today.It's very sleek, it's very minimal.Whereas something like the Sidekick,which is a popular smartphone of the day,looks a lot morebusy.It's easy to forget just how big of dealphones like the Sidekickwere back in the day.Oh yeah, it actually did havethe super cool sliding mechanism,almost like a modern-day fidget spinner.Nicely timed Ken.But, when you look at it,it's such a different design,it really does feel a lotolder than the iPhone.Another major competitorwas the Nokia N95.Now while this does definitelylook like it's straight out of 2007,there are actually alot of cool things thatthis could do the iPhone couldn't.One of the main oneswas actually the camera.Now the iPhone did have a camera,but this actually has a pretty solid5 megapixel auto-focus camera.It also has a little shutterthing, which is kinda cool.It also had a front-facing camera,which the iPhone didn'tget until the iPhone 4,it supported 3G, and to top it all off,it had not only T9 when you slide it up,when you slide it down, youactually had media controls.Selfie time!(shutter click)Alright, that's a little crunchy,but gotta focus here, and(shutter click)That actually doesn't look bad.Honestly, this is probablya little bit betterthan some budget smartphonesI've tried recently.Move over to the iPhone andnot only do we get the awesome,old-school slide to unlock,but there is a slightly less impressive2 megapixel camera here.Wow, it's not that bad,but iPhones havedefinitely come a long wayas far as cameras go.What really set the iPhoneapart though, was its software.The hardware itself wasfairly underpowered,but what they were able toreally nail was iPhone OS.There was a lot missing whenthis first launched though.Not only was there no multitasking,but it didn't even have an AppStore until the second year.But, what really savedit were the fundamentalswere absolutely there.Stuff like scrolling felt way more naturalthan pretty much anyother phone on the market,and its definitelymulti-touch was really cool.Keep in mind, back in the day,most phones didn't even have touchscreens,and the ones that didtypically used a stylus.The iPhone and iPhone OS was a huge leap.(box lands)But,that's not all.Inside this slightlysuspicious-looking black box isa prototype for the original iPhone.Now the hardware itselfis basically unchangedcompared to current iPhonesthat actually ended up shipping,but what is different about thisis the actual software experience.There was a ton of secrecyaround the original iPhone,so much so that they createda super basic UI so thatif something did leak,no one would really knowwhat they were up to.It was also helpful for testing,as you can see, we have allkinds of different options.But what's cool is that it has the littleSkankPhone Easter egg on the bottom.All the basic functionsof the phone are here.So not only could youget and receive SMSes,but there's also a bunch ofpre-programmed test messages,which sadly don't work sincethis isn't on a network.There's also the phone dialer,you can get to the camera,which in theory will work,although it might not theprettiest thing in the world.But this really was meant for testing.There's also a full diagnostic menu,which can show everything from the WiFi,the Bluetooth, the accelerometer.See if the touch screen is working.You can see the camera, buttons.There's a lot of veryinteresting stuff with this.Yes, it's a prototype andit was really meant morefor avoiding leaks thananything else, but it's acool piece of Apple history.After ten years,it's hard to argue with howimportant this iPhone was.Pretty much any modern smartphone todayowes at least something to the OG.So, what do you guys thinkabout the original iPhone?Let me know in the comments belowand I will catch you on the next one.