When Steve Jobs took to the stage at Macworld in 2007, he later on announced a product which fundamentally changed our world, our lives, and technology as we know it. The announcement of the iPhone revolutionized many of the daily tasks which we now regard as common practice. The iPhone changed technology in our lives for decades to come.
Back in early 2007, data usage on phones was significantly lower
compared to voice calling. Up until 2007 the “smartphone” served its original purpose of being a communication device for most users and really nothing more. During the keynote at Macworld, Steve Jobs set out to change that. He claimed that the iPhone would be three main things, firstly a “new iPod with touch controls”, “a revolutionary mobile phone”, and a “breakthrough internet communicator.” These visions set a foundation for cell phones in the years to come.
However, another area that the iPhone completely changed amongst the main three purposes which Steve Jobs addressed was handheld photography. With the release of the original iPhone, the ability for someone to take photos became as simple as taking their phone out of their pocket and taking a picture. In the following years, the traditional DSLR camera became less popular for taking photos compared to standard smartphones, and, over time the simplicity of taking photos on the smartphone resulted in 85% of digital photos in 2017 being taken on smartphones versus traditional cameras. All in all, the accessibility of everyday tasks which we take for granted every day such as taking photos were originally streamlined by the iPhone.
Now here we are today, ten years after the release of the original iPhone, and Apple has once again attempted to reinvigorate and redefine cell phones for the next ten years. The iPhone X has become Apple’s ambitious flagship phone which aims to introduce AR in a streamlined fashion, reshape the power that a cell phone can have, and show the seamless transition between hardware and software. Apple’s new phone has polarized many people, on one half many believe it is one of the greatest phones of all time, whereas others believe that it is a strong case of a good idea but bad execution. However, among those divided lie those who wonder whether or not the new iPhone X will truly change phones as we know them once again, and to figure out the answer to that question, only time will tell.
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