The Evolution of the iPhone: From Revolution to Ubiquity

When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs announced the iPhone in 2007, he described it as a “revolutionary product” in the category of phones that he said needed to be reinvented.

Now, after nearly two decades and 42 models, the iPhone has become one of the most popular phones in the world. Apple has sold more than 2.3 billion units of the iPhone and has over 1.5 billion active users, according to research conducted by Demand Sage and published by CNBC.

The original iPhone was released in June 2007 and sold exclusively to AT&T for $499.

Gene Munster of Loup Ventures said, “Investors were optimistic about the impact the iPhone could have on Apple.”

He added, “The initial data that came out from AT&T was disappointing compared to the first few days of sales. I remember talking to investors after the first weekend holiday, and the general feeling was that this product, in the words of one investor, was dead on arrival.”

Disappointing first year
Apple sold 1.4 million iPhones in 2007, with 80% of sales coming in the fourth quarter. In the same year, Nokia, the manufacturer of the famous Nokia 3310, sold 7.4 million mobile phones in the fourth quarter alone.

CNBC’s technology correspondent Kif Leswing said, “Nokia was seen as unstoppable and did not accept competition.”

Munster said, “The investment community viewed this move by Apple as a gamble in a difficult-to-penetrate market.”

Things began to change for Apple in 2008 when it launched the App Store, helping to drive a new wave of modern technology companies like Uber and putting Apple at the forefront of its competitors.

Munster said, “The App Store allowed your phone to become much bigger… That was the missing piece, that vision, and other phone manufacturers didn’t expect that to happen.”

Apple saw an increase in iPhone unit sales in the years following the App Store, and the company achieved a major milestone (selling over 50 million units) in 2011 with the iPhone 4S. The company sold 72 million units that year. By 2015, Apple was selling over 200 million iPhone units annually.