Queues in front of the entrance doors hours before the shops open: What do you think of spontaneously? Clearly, the new iPhone is coming and everyone needs to have it right away. Hardly any other product has ever gone through such a rapid development from the first appearance on the market to cult status.
When it comes to buying a smartphone, there are always only two alternatives:
I either buy an iPhone or I don't.
It seems as if Apple's successful product is a product line of its own, that's how independent the name iPhone has become. And it can only look back on such a short history.
In the field of PCs, Apple was already a unique force when Steve Jobs set about developing a smartphone in the early 2000s. As with his previous innovations, he wanted to create something that no one else could match. Exclusivity, effectiveness, the best possible quality and perfection have always been his standards. But at the same time, the product should be easy to use. A smartphone for everyone. A smartphone that can cover many areas. There were the first mobile phones, there were mp3 players, there were PDAs. Steve Jobs realized that the future called for bundling. All functions combined in one device.
A box office hit from the start
When Steve Jobs presented the first iPhone in January 2007 at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco, intensive years of research and development lay behind him and his team. It was not just a question of developing the mere technology of the device, but always including the possibilities of mobile communications in research and improvement. From the first announcement to the first sale of the iPhone, another six months passed. During the first weekend, half a million iPhones sold for $499 each, each tied to an AT&T cell phone plan.
What Steve Jobs was often accused of by critics was also a key to success: a kind of "technical separatism". While the world is otherwise increasingly concerned about compatibility, Jobs created a world of its own with the iPhone, its own operating system and then with the App Store. Accessories like iPhone sleeves, covers, cases, speakers should live up to this philosophy. It should be unique. Unmistakable. High-quality. Simply perfect – just like the iPhone.
