U.S. News

Apple's first iPhone turns 15 years old

By Daniel Uria   |   Jan. 9, 2022 at 3:04 PM
The late Steve Jobs unveiled Apple's first iPhone 15 years ago on Jan. 9, 2007, helping to usher in a new era of smartphone technology. File Photo by Aaron Kehoe/UPI An Apple Store associate packs up an iPhone for a customer in Arlington, Va., on June 29, 2007. File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI A customer reacts after walking out of the store with his new iPhone after being among the first to purchase it at an Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 2007. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI Apple's new iPhone 13 Pro Max are displayed during the launch day at Apple Marunouchi store in Tokyo, Japan on Friday, Sept. 13, 2021. Photo by UPI Propelled in part by the popularity of the iPhone, Apple's market valuation has risen from $174.03 billion in 2007 to become the first publicly traded company to achieve a $3 trillion market valuation last week. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Sunday marks 15 years since the late Steve Jobs unveiled Apple's first iPhone, spurring a revolution in cellphone technology.

On Jan. 9, 2007, Jobs introduced the cutting edge smartphone as "an iPod, a phone and internet communicator" during a keynote presentation in Las Vegas.

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"iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone," he said.

The original phone launched at a base price of $499 for 4GB of storage, with an 8GB option available for $100 more. It had a 3.5-inch screen, one camera located on the back of the phone and launched with just 15 apps, with no marketplace available to download new ones.

In 2022, the most expensive iPhone 13 Pro Max model costs $1,599 with 1TB of storage, a 6.7-inch screen four total cameras, including a front-facing camera, and access to millions of apps on Apple's App store.

The iPhone was also exclusively available to AT&T wireless customers until 2011 and is now available through most major wireless carriers.

Just 74 days after the launch of the original iPhone, Apple had sold 1 million units with the phone remaining popular, selling 216.7 million units in 2018, a rate of roughly a million every 1.5 days.

Propelled in part by the popularity of the iPhone, Apple's market valuation has risen from $174.03 billion in 2007 to become the first publicly traded company to achieve a $3 trillion market valuation last week.