iPhone Timeline

iPhone (2G)

June 29, 2007

Apple proudly claimed upon the release of its first ever mobile that it had reinvented the phone – and it was right. Combining three major assets – telephony, an iPod, and internet communications via Wi-Fi and EDGE – the product was the most exciting thing to happen to the market in years, and set the bar high for competitors who had never gone up against it before.

From the then-advanced sensors that allowed the phone to rotate images and webpages to landscape – now a mobile phone staple – to the integration of Google Maps and a class-leading camera, the iPhone was unsurprisingly named Time Magazine's Invention of the Year.

"It is but the ghost of iPhones yet to come," said Time's Lev Grossman, forecasting that the first generation of iPhone would look "primitive" in a few years – and he was right.

iPhone 4

June 24, 2010

After being leaked months ahead of its sale in June 2010, the iPhone 4's hype was matched by the huge changes it delivered; hardware and software alike enjoyed major renovations and innovations.

Labelled the thinnest smartphone in the world on launch, the iPhone 4 was flat, with aluminosilicate glass forming the front and back while a stainless steel frame doubled up as its antenna. It was a bold move in order to make the phone more attractive and simple, though left-handers around the world found themselves with signal problems linked to their dexterity.

The iPhone 4's obvious immediate change was its new high-resolution Retina display, making things look prettier than ever. This was powered by the Apple A4 chip and iOS4, which allowed users to multitask for the first time. Users were also given HD video recording with an all-new 5MP camera, as well as a second camera on the front to complement the new FaceTime app – which soon helped put the word "selfie" in the dictionary.

iPhone 5

September 21, 2012

Thinner, lighter and longer – and the biggest shake-up of the iPhone to date – the iPhone 5 was the first to abandon its 3.5" screen in favour of a 4" display, which allowed for an extra row of icons and better support for widescreen video. As rivals HTC and Samsung went for even larger displays, Apple was quick to highlight the ergonomics and comfort in the hand of your average Joe – why make it bigger if your thumb can't reach parts of the touchscreen?

Selfies were finally brought up to 720p HD with the now-centred front camera, the A6 chip clocked in at a steady 1GHz, RAM was doubled to 1GB, and everything was charged faster by the all-new Apple Lightning cable. It was all held together by an anodised aluminium body, reducing weight by 20 per cent – notably by using metal for most of the back cover, making it less liable to accidental damage. It also ushered in the new era of data: 4G.

iPhone 6

September 19, 2014

The big announcement on September 9th finally gave us all our first look at the super-slim iPhone 6 - and what a handsome beast it is. Mirroring the most recent iPad designs, the iPhone 6 has curved edges, although the star of the show is surely the screen – nearly an inch bigger than its predecessor.

The resolution is less than the 416 ppi that had been widely predicted, sticking with the same 326 ppi rating enjoyed by the iPhone 5S – so while it's a bigger screen, it won't be any sharper. The camera is still 8.0 MP too, although autofocus, noise reduction and image stabilisation have all undergone dramatic improvements. Meanwhile, the battery's had a bit of a boost, though it still lags behind comparable Android phones.

One of the more interesting additions is a number of new sensors to monitor users' health, fitness and sleep patterns, no doubt designed to partner up with iOS 8's new Health app. The iPhone 6 goes on sale on September 19th – will you be upgrading?