Today marks ten years since Steve Jobs first unveiled the original iPhone (check out our handy iPhone history here) and, according to Tim Cook, “the best is yet to come.”
Cook’s comment was made as part of a press release, put out by Apple to celebrate the event. “iPhone is an essential part of our customers’ lives, and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live,” he noted, adding that the iPhone has “set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade — and we are just getting started.”
Phil Schiller, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing, meanwhile commented that:
“It is amazing that from the very first iPhone through to today’s newest iPhone 7 Plus, it has remained the gold standard by which all other smartphones are judged. For many of us, iPhone has become the most essential device in our lives and we love it. iPhone is how we make voice and FaceTime calls, how we shoot and share Live Photos and 4K videos, how we listen to streaming music, how we use social media, how we play games, how we get directions and find new places, how we pay for things, how we surf the web, do email, manage our contacts and calendars, how we listen to podcasts, watch TV, movies and sports, and how we manage our fitness and health. iPhone has become all of these things and more.”
The iPhone’s tenth anniversary comes at a crucial time for the company, as sales are declining for the first time in the product’s history, while plans to expand into new markets such as China and India have posed a variety of challenges — although the latter may turn out to be the site of future iPhone manufacturing.
Cook’s comments about how “the best is yet to come” precede an iPhone 8 release this year that is likely to be the most significant overhaul for the product line since 2014, when the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus made their debut.
According to various reports, these upgrades will include OLED displays with Samsung Galaxy S7 edge-style curved glass displays, and a redesigned all-glass housing, which could help bring wireless charging to the iPhone. Other rumors have suggested the 2017-era iPhone may even benefit from a 3D camera sensor. As is customary for Apple, the iPhone 8 is likely to ship in September.
Do you think the best is yet to come for the iPhone? Has Tim Cook served the product line well during his tenure as Apple CEO? And how should Apple mark the tenth birthday of its most successful product? Leave your comments below.
