Today in Apple history: iPhone 3G brings a big speed boost

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iPhone 3G
Did you own the iPhone 3G?
Photo: Apple

July 11: Today in Apple history: iPhone 3G goes on sale, brings big speed boost July 11, 2008: The iPhone 3G goes on sale. Expectations for the smartphone sequel run high, and Apple delivers with the addition of GPS, faster 3G data and a higher-quality build.

To make things even better, Apple’s second smartphone runs on a new mobile operating system. iPhone OS 2 introduces a better Mail app, turn-by-turn navigation and a little something called the App Store.

iPhone 3G release brings 3G data, lower price

In terms of industrial design, the iPhone 3G made the somewhat un-Apple switch away from aluminum. The new smartphone replaced the flat aluminum back and plastic bottom of the first-gen iPhone with a curved plastic backing made from hard polycarbonate. The iPhone 3G arrived in two colors — black and white.

The biggest improvement came from the addition of 3G cellular networking to supplant EDGE. This led to improved data-transfer speeds and clearer call reception. GPS, while less important to some customers, proved vital as well. While GPS seems like old news in today’s smartphones, a phone that could reliably pick up satellites in 2008 turned heads.

Alongside the hardware upgrades, the iPhone 3G brought another clear advantage: its price.

It retailed for $199, a massive 60% cheaper than the $499 starting price of the original iPhone. Apple previously slashed the price of the first-gen iPhone, but breaking the $200 price barrier made the iPhone 3G far more affordable.

The supreme importance of the App Store

Powering the iPhone 3G, the new iPhone OS 2 packed the single most important update to any iOS version to date. (The name switched from “iPhone OS 2” to “iOS” after the launch of the iPad in 2010.)

The world-changing feature in iPhone OS 2? The arrival of the App Store.

Despite Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ initial reluctance to launch an online software marketplace, the App Store fundamentally transformed the iPhone. It turned the device from a locked-down platform into something far more customizable and fun.

Suddenly, every iPhone user could enjoy his or her own “killer app,” depending on what type of software proved most important to them.

The App Store also opened up a massive new source of revenue for third-party developers.

iPhone 3G launch: A big hit for Apple

The iPhone 3G quickly became a smash hit for Apple. In its first weekend on sale, Apple sold 1 million devices. Admittedly, that’s a fraction of the number Cupertino sells during opening weekends today. For example, the iPhone 6s sold 13 million units in its first weekend. (Apple no longer releases those numbers for a variety of reasons.)

However, the iPhone 3G launch proved massive for Apple at the time.

As Jobs said, “It took 74 days to sell the first 1 million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world.”

What did you think about iPhone 3G?

Did you own an iPhone 3G? What was your first, or your favorite, iPhone model in history? Let us know in the comments below.

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