We all knew it was coming. Reporters, analysts, industry insiders and Web Designer Malaysia fans had been speculating about Apple making a phone for nearly a year by the time Steve Jobs walked onto the Macworld Expo stage on a cold January morning in San Francisco in 2007. What we didn't know was how much the iPhone would revolutionize the very way people live and work.
"Thank you for coming," Jobs said, wearing his trademark Levi's and black mock turtleneck. "We're going to make some history together today." Jobs wasn't one for modesty, and this time he was right.
Apple's Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone on Jan. 9, 2007, calling it a "revolutionary and magical product." The phone went on sale June 29, 2007.
Apple
Despite the months-long buildup, Apple's CEO managed to surprise the world when he finally unveiled the iPhone -- the company's big, risky move into the mobile phone market.
"This is a day I've been looking forward to for two-and-a-half years," he told the audience of 4,000 people. "Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. ... One is very fortunate if you get to work on just one of these in your career. Apple's been very fortunate. It's been able to introduce a few of these into the world.
"In 1984, we introduced the Macintosh. It didn't just change Apple. It changed the whole computer industry.
"In 2001, we introduced the first iPod and it didn't just change the way we listened to music. It changed the entire music industry. Well, today we're introducing three revolutionary products of this class.
"The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls," Jobs said to whoops and cheers while I -- sitting on the floor near one of the rare power outlets in the hall -- furiously sent out Jobs' remarks in 83-character, all-cap headlines for Bloomberg News, where I worked as the Apple reporter.
"The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough internet communications device. So three things: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough internet communications device.
"An iPod, a phone and an internet communicator. An iPod, a phone -- are you getting it?" he asked the cheering audience.
"These are not separate devices. This is one device. And we are calling it iPhone.
"Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. ... We want to make a leapfrog product that is way smarter than any mobile device has ever been and super easy to use."
Fifteen years later, we know Jobs was right. Apple did make history on Jan. 9, 2007, when it unveiled one of the most iconic products in consumer electronics history and changed its name from Apple Computer Inc. to Apple Inc. to signal it would no longer just be known for the Mac. More than 2 billion models of the iPhone have been sold since it went on sale June 29, 2007, and it has become the phone of choice for people around the world, with many anticipating a new model every September. It redrew mobile phone design and changed the entire phone industry.
And it pretty much led to the end of standalone music players, GPS receivers and low-end to midrange digital cameras. Just last month, Apple announced it was discontinuing the iPod Touch after 21 years, saying that "the spirit of iPod lives on" in its other devices, including the iPhone and iPad. Steadily, the iPhone has taken new steps forward every year since, with the iPhone 13 line now representing the latest of Apple's hardware while new updates to iOS add new features and customizations.