It’s been 8 years since the iPhone was unveiled. Look how terrible the first one was

Venture Beat ^ | January 10, 2015

[Swordmaker]

It’s eight years to the day since Steve Jobs first revealed the iPhone to the world.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

Before the iPhone came out, smartphones were clunky devices, half keyboard and half screen.

Full websites didn’t run on mobile phones, so companies were forced to build weak, mobile versions of their sites.

The iPhone changed everything.

And yet the iPhone experience we all enjoy today didn’t happen overnight. It took years of Apple adding feature upon feature. By today’s standards, the original iPhone was a useless brick.

As a reminder of how far the iPhone has come, we’ve put together this slideshow on how the first iPhone was pretty crappy.

There’s an important lesson here: People tend to quickly judge products on what they can and cannot do, while failing to account for how the product improves over time. As the iPhone shows, it’s okay to start with limitations and gradually expand the product over the years.

As speculation mounts ahead of the release of the Apple Watch, it’s worth keeping this in mind.

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Yes, the original iPhone was a miracle. As a reminder, here’s what the competition looked like at the time.

Image Credit: WSJ

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That said, it’s fun to look back and see how many really basic features were missing from the first iPhone.

Image Credit: AP

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It ran on EDGE, or 2G wireless, which is painfully slow. It’s basically dial-up speed.

Image Credit: Flickr/greg.chiasson

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That 2G connection was extra painful because AT&T was the only carrier option available. And AT&T had its problems (like dropped calls).

Above: Stan Sigman, the chief executive of AT&T at the time.

Image Credit: Screenshot

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There was no App Store, so there was no Angry Birds, no Instagram, no Candy Crush, no anything fun!

What makes the iPhone the iPhone is all the apps. When Apple first launched the iPhone it had no App Store. Steve Jobs wasn’t sure if he wanted to have one because of his desire to totally control the experience. Eventually he relented. But even if Jobs had been on board with an App Store from day one, there’s no way it could have been ready right away. It’s a major undertaking.

Above: Angry Birds GO!
Image Credit: Rovio

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Hopefully you liked a black background, because that was the only choice you had! You couldn’t change the iPhone’s wallpaper picture.

Above: iPhone 3G

Image Credit: AP

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It took three years for Apple to add cut, copy, and paste.

Above: Cut or copy.

Image Credit: Flickr/Robert S. Donovan

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You had to plug the iPhone into a computer to set it up. You had to do this for five years!

Above: PC Free

Image Credit: Screenshot

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The keyboards in the email and text-messaging apps didn’t work in landscape mode.

Above: Messaging in action.

Image Credit: Screenshot

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You couldn’t send people images in your text messages!

Above: Text message
Image Credit: Aaron Moodie

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There were no turn-by-turn directions apps. It’s not just that Apple didn’t have turn-by-turn — it didn’t let other app developers do it for years, either.

Above: You still needed this if you had an iPhone.
Image Credit: Flickr/John.Karakatsanis

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The camera was 2 megapixels!

Above: 8 GB iPhone.
Image Credit: Flickr/Carl Berkeley>

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The camera also couldn’t do video. (Which means it couldn’t do adorable Vines like the one below.)

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There was no notification center, no Siri, and no control center. These are all complicated features, so this isn’t surprising — but it’s still a reminder of how many huge features Apple has added since 2007.

Above: Siri.
Image Credit: Screenshot

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And it cost $499 for a 4GB model! There was no $200 or $0 subsidized option.

Image Credit: Screenshot

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“So what?” (You may be saying … )

You’re not wrong to ask “So what?” The point here is that technology takes time to fully form. While the iPhone was a miracle when it was released, it still had a long way to go. So remember that the next time a tech company releases a new product. Assuming the fundamental product vision is sound, the first version is just a starting point.

Above: Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus
Image Credit: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

[Morpheus2009]

I didn’t understand that either. They also just recently rendered the charger cords obselete as well. So older ones in perfect condition for an iPod now are useless. Go figure.

[Morpheus2009]

Similar with my iPod touch. In fact, it has held up better than my classic ipod. Too outdated for software updates, but it still works smoothly in it’s functions. What’s even more crazy is the fact that new iOS is going to essentially play games that were on XBox 360 (Bioshock) although the controls would be terrible, having such processing power in your hands is awesome.

[Swordmaker]

I didn’t understand that either. They also just recently rendered the charger cords obselete as well. So older ones in perfect condition for an iPod now are useless. Go figure.

In what way? The charger still works with the iPod, iPhone, and the older cables are still available from Apple, Apple certified suppliers, and non-certified suppliers by the thousands any where from 99¢ to $10.00. So what's useless anywhere? Apple sells the Chargers, Cables, adapters and accessories in their stores, so what in hell are you complaining about? This is just ignorant FUD.

[Eric Pode of Croydon]

And there is still no handwriting recognition, like my Palm PDA had in 1998. I hate those dinky onscreen keyboards.

[Flick Lives]

Good graphic... and oh so true!

[bgill]

I still don’t have one nor care to have one. For the cost, I’d rather put food on the table and pay the electric bill.

[zeugma]

SD card? Even Google has realized the error of supporting SD cards on their devices

Sword, From what I understand, they've dropped that idea, and put SD support back in due to folks complaining. I know that the lack of an SD card was one of the primary reasons I went with Android rather than an iPad for my tablet. For me, it's a deal breaker. Don't really care about it so much on my phone, as I'd be happy if the phone did nothing but calls and text, but I need to be able to move serious data to my tablet, and the online options for doing so are not acceptable to me.

I understand the security implications of it, and don't particularly care. Corporate issues are not my concern.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[avenir]

“After 14 years of being a Sprint customer, I’m changing to Verizon...”

It only took me one year, and $125 ETF (they kindly gave me a $25 credit). I use a Note 2 and fell for their “unlimited data” scam. Unlimited amounts of NOTHING = NOTHING! I ran to Verizon with a checkbook and said “How much?” as the whole “get what you pay for” proverb had taught me by that point.

I have an iPad Air with cellular plan/hot spot and total monthly is $52 for 8Gb data. I use the ipad as my base station at work and connect to it via WiFi with my Note 2 and use TextMe app to text and make/receive calls. When I’m on break I have my big iPad to enjoy.

Probably too weird for most people but I get the best of both worlds. Sort of, lol. The phone solution isn’t as good as a real phone but it’s at least $30 less a month.

Oh, Verizon rocks. They ain’t cheap/unlimited, but they deliver the goods!

[itsahoot]

If Apple would just reconsider a USB port, I could ditch windows forever. I know this is a thread about IPhones and how far they’ve come....

There is Zero reasons to have a USB port on an iPad, there are many good reasons not to have one.

[itsahoot]

I still don’t have one nor care to have one.

Yet here you are on an Apple thread.

[TADSLOS]

LOL

[kevkrom]

They also just recently rendered the charger cords obselete as well.

Technology marches forward. The Lightning interface is more efficient than the old 30-pin style, and it saves a relatively significant amount of real estate inside the phone's casing.

[Swordmaker]

And there is still no handwriting recognition, like my Palm PDA had in 1998. I hate those dinky onscreen keyboards.

Yes, there is. Quite a few 3rd party Apps support handwriting recognition. . . but Apple will never ship one with a loseable stylus. Perhaps you've forgotten, but every one of those PDAs licensed their handwriting recognition from APPLE, who owns the patent rights to it. . . Apple developed it for the first viable PDA, the Newton, for which the term PDA was coined.

[wardaddy]

There is no auto text for the IP6+

I have communicated with their tech folks and they claim they violate security protocol

They have text reminder apps only

Google issues with IP6 Bluetooth and various auto models

It’s common

Apple phone help told me to get an aftermarket radio for my 2014 truck. That Pioneer worked..,,so they know

CW is that Apple in their haste to churn out a bigger model to compete with the Japs etc just didn’t get it right and they don’t make it cheap for auto manufacturers to get compatible...according to board chatter fwiw

Which goes back to....sux considering the cost

And Verizon is no help....they just sell them...jury is still out but this is my 2nd iPhone that proved incompatible with my truck life business

I own a chain of small businesses....so in vehicle most days all day

Yes Apple Store help at mall are surprisingly very nice..even for hipsters and millennial hippies but the average customer is like Oregon bushman lib or college hipster with a few like us who stand out...lol

Phone help us less amicable

Folks who love their apples can be fierce about it

I ambivalent...in the correct definition....conflicted.....even though I own more Apple products than 99%. of the population

My kids love them

If you know a true auto text please send me a link....I can’t find one...only text reminder apps

One weird quirk

Text keyboard is more responsive in vertical mode than horizontal where it’s more comprehensive but finicky

[Morpheus2009]

Doesn’t break as easily either, I presume.

[Vendome]

LOL!

[bgill]

Just here to keep up with world happenings.

[Swordmaker]

Hey, Wardaddy. . . give this a try. Don’t know how good it is, but some people swear by it.

http://www.automaticmessage.com

[Swordmaker]

Phone help us less amicable

i've always found the phone help people very helpful. . . and willing to escalate to more skilled if the first person cannot fix the problem. They always call back when they say they will, too.