iPhone: A visual history

In early 2007 Steve Jobs announced the very first iPhone. Designed to “reinvent the phone,” Apple’s iPhone has revolutionized smartphones and shaped the industry into what it is today. The first iPhone mixed a capacitive 3.5-inch multi-touch display with touch-optimized software in a simple package that was unlike anything else on the market. Over the last seven years, Apple has refined and tweaked its iPhone into what it is today: the iPhone 6.

Apple has used combinations of metal, plastic, and glass to shape and form its ideas of what a modern smartphone should look like throughout the history of the iPhone. Major redesigns with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 saw Apple push the boundaries of smartphone hardware, all while competitors were catching up. Now that the smartphone industry is moving to larger screens, Apple has been forced to respond with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Read on to see exactly how Apple evolved its iPhone hardware over the years, in our history of iPhone.

Grid View

• Where it all began Apple's first iPhone debuted in 2007 with the trademark home button, a metal rear casing, and just a 3.5-inch display. Its capacitive touchscreen laid the foundations for modern smartphones.
• iPhone 3G Apple's second iPhone was a big departure from the original. The iPhone 3G dropped in price thanks to a new plastic rear, but also gained 3G connectivity, GPS, third-party apps, and a white model to choose from. A rounded rear completed the look, and button placements remained the same.
• iPhone 3GS Apple's third iPhone is practically identical to its second. The iPhone 3GS has the same plastic rear, but Apple made the iPhone text stand out with a silver color. Inside, Apple focused on speed improvements and a 3-megapixel camera capable of recording video. Apple also introduced a voice control feature alongside a highly requested cut, copy, and paste feature in iOS 3.
• iPhone 4 Apple’s first major redesign of the iPhone featured a combination of stainless steel and glass. Both the front and back of the iPhone 4 is covered in glass, and the square and flat look is a radical departure from the previous 3GS model. Apple also introduced a forward-facing camera with FaceTime, a 3.5-inch Retina display, and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash.
• iPhone 4S Just like the 3G to 3GS upgrade, Apple’s iPhone 4S looks identical to the iPhone 4. After the infamous antennagate episode with the iPhone 4, the 4S improved on the dual-antenna design capsulated in the stainless steel band, all while gaining a faster processor, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording, and support for the Siri digital assistant.
• iPhone 5 Apple’s second major redesign of the iPhone arrived with the iPhone 5. An all-new aluminum design encased a larger 4-inch display into the thinnest and lightest iPhone so far. Surprisingly light to hold, the iPhone 5 also included an improved 8-megapixel camera with a sapphire crystal lens cover and HD FaceTime camera at the front. Alongside the radical design, Apple switched to a new Lightning connector and redesigned its EarPod headphones.
• iPhone 5C While many were expecting the iPhone 5C to be a budget iPhone, it debuted as an iPhone 5 with a plastic rear. That made it slightly cheaper, but its internal components are identical to the iPhone 5. While Apple had always stuck to black and white color combinations for its iPhone, the iPhone 5C introduced some much needed color to the range.
• iPhone 5S Continuing the S trend, Apple’s iPhone 5S is almost identical in appearance to the iPhone 5 at first glance. New color combinations differentiate it from the 5, and a gold option offered an alternative to the typical black or white. Apple also redesigned its home button for the first time with the iPhone 5S, adding a fingerprint Touch ID sensor to unlock the device by simply touching your finger on the home button.
• iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Apple's latest iPhones have one unmistakeable feature: size. The iPhone 6 is has a 4.7-inch display, and the iPhone 6 Plus jumps to 5.5 inches. Both have Retina HD displays with a curved body and NFC chips for Apple Pay, but the iPhone 6 Plus includes optical image stabilization with its 8-megapixel camera.