Apple iPhones

The best of Apple

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In 2007 Apple released their first phone, the iPhone. A touch sensitive screen rather than a keyboard and a large, for the time screen. This was a 2G phone. Since then as mobile phone technology has improved so has the iPhone. Today (October 2019) the latest phone has the same pedigree. A great UI, large screen and great design. Apple prices their iPhones at the higher price bracket as these are high end sought after devices. The latest iPhone 11 Pro Max with 51GMB of memory is a massive £1500, cheaper iPhone 11 starts at £729 for the basic model with 64Gb capacity. The motto in Apple is not the first but the best. So new technology takes time to be implemented on the iPhone but the phones are of the best quality when released.

The development of the iPhone at Apple is an interesting read. It was a brave departure for Apple to move into the phone market and Steve Jobs didn't want to develop an iPhone that mimicked the separate keyboard, small screen models of the time. The Apple computers were all about excellent UI and Jobs wanted the iPhone to be the same. The risky release of the original iPhone with the large touchscreen made the company and now (2019) the iPone revenue is just under half of the whole Apple company having recently fallen from over half. By making such great iPhones people are keeping these longer and now perhaps waiting for 5G so the importance to Apple's revenue of iPhone may well increase next year with the release of the 5G version.

iPhone 11
The latest version of the iPhone released 20th September 2019. The feature Apple are advertising is the new camer or should this be cameras. Two or three lenses working together creates excellent pictures. What Apple are not advertising is that this still is a 4G phone, even though 5G is now out. This reflects Apple's business model of not being at the first but being the best!

iPhone XS XSMax and XR
On 21st September 2018, less than 10 months later than the iPhone X Apple released the XS and XS Max with the XR following a month later. Again some minor changes but nothing that would put the iPhone X to chame. The main introduction was the XS Max with the very large screen at 6.5in. Again a number of cameras built in and enhanced software making this a very good photographic device, both for selfies and traditional photographs. The XR was released a month later. The R indicating retinal display. This was a new phone with a great display.

iPhone X
Only a few months later 3rd November 2017 Apple launched the flagship iPhone X. What happened to 9? This departure indicated a new range of high level phones moving away from the evolution of generations. One of the new features was Face ID which replaced home button on the screen. This was a large phone with a 5.8in screen. here was truly a flagship phone which would attract customers to the high technical capabilities of the iPhone BUt at a cost, just less than £1000.

iPhone 8 and 8Plus
Another year another iPhone and many would say without any new Wow factor. The The iPhone 8 and iPhone8 plus were released on 22th September 2017. Reaction was mixed as this was largely the same phone differently packaged and at a large cost. Were Apple cashing in on their brand loyalty but failing to give new features? the iPhone 8 is still on sale today; sold at a lower price point perhaps indicating that this is still a great phone.

iPhone 7 and 7Plus
The iPhone 7 and iPhone7 plus were released on 7th September 2016 and were very similar to the iPhone 6 and 6Plus. Basically everything was similar making critics ask if Apple had run out of ideas? The main change was the removal of the 3.5mm jack plug replaced by a set of in-ear bluetooth buds. Something that is still controversial today. The focus was on the camera, with the 7Pus having enhanced capabilities for the rear camera. Here Apple were marketing the phone as a serious camera.

iPhone SE
The iPhone SE was the first attempt by Apple to enter the lower level of phones, in terms of functionality and price. Previously they had bept the older version and offerred a two year old phone at a lower price. This was a specifically made phone for the lower price pointmarket. The iPhone SE was released on 21st March 2016. The main difference was the screen size at only 4.0in.

iPhone 6 and 6Plus
The iPhone 6 and iPhone6 plus were released together on 9th September 2014. This first time they released two phones at one time. The main difference was the screen size with the iPhone 6 at 4.7in and the Plus version at 5.5in. This was the first 4G LTE Apple phone. Two years (12/9/16) year later () the S version was released with various hardware developments but largely a similar set of products.

iPhone 5
Version 5 of the iPhone was released on 21 September 2012. The main change was the outer design, back to the aluminium back body and an even thinner phone. But, other than these cosmetic changes there were no real developments. However the demand for the phone on release was significant. A year later, 20th September 2013 two new versions were released, the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5S. The 5c was a "budget" phone, although Apple never stated this. The aluminium body was replaced by a cheaper plastic but essentiallythe same as the iPhone5. Major improvements with the iPhone 5S were the processor and the introduction of a fingerprint scanner on the home button.

iPhone 4
The iPhone 4 was released on 7th June 2010. The phone was touted as the thinnest smartphone. It had glass fromt and back with an aluinuim band around the edge which worded as the antenna. Faster electronica and a better design improved the phone but not real significant developments included. the 'S' version was released on 14th October 2011. Apple are using the 'S' suffic to note a change in spec but not so much as a new mode. Siri arrived wit the 4S, the much loved and hated Apple voice assistant. Also a better camera was available at 8Mpx. and faster processor.

iPhone 3G
The second version of the iPhone cam with 3G - hence the name. It was launched on 11th July 2008. In addition to being a 3G phone GPS was introduced to allow for micro navigation. With these features this phone was a big step towards the smartphone of today. A slightly larger phone than the original it still had a 3.5in screen but the aluminium body was replaced by either a black or white plastic body aimed to improve the reception. The newer S version was released on 19th June 2009 thus starting a pattern of an S update. various updates were made for the S version most notably the introduction of HSDPA making the 3G run faster. A better 3Mpx came with the new model.

iPhone
The first version of the iPhone was released on 29th June 2007. It was a 2G phone capable of using data with GPRS and EDGE. The storage within the device was a small 4Gb. The device was a 3.5 touchscreen with a software keyboard in contrast to many of the contemporary phones that had a hardware keyboard. Ther was a single rear facing camera on the phone.