I’ve Covered Every iPhone Launch Since 2007 — Here Are 7 of the Best Moments

Apple’s Glowtime event on Monday (September 9) promises to be an unforgettable occasion. Not only will we get our first official look at the iPhone 16 lineup, but we should also learn more about Apple Intelligence and whether Apple is planning any additional AI features for its new phones beyond the ones we already saw this summer at WWDC 2024.

New hardware and new capabilities are part of the recipe for any successful iPhone launch. So how will the iPhone 16 debut ultimately compare to previous Apple Phone events?

That’s something we’ll have to wait and see what exactly Apple has planned for Monday’s product launch. But no matter what Apple shows, it’s a tall order to be among the most memorable iPhone launches. I know because I’ve been covering Apple since long before the iPhone became a blip in the company’s product lineup. In fact, I’ve been in the building for about half of the iPhone launches, including the original iPhone 17 years ago.

Maybe once the dust settles on the iPhone 16, its launch will find its place on the list. But here’s my list of the seven most memorable iPhone launches since Apple entered the smartphone business.

iPhone comes in many sizes (iPhone 6, 2014)

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on a pink background

(Photo source: Apple)

Try explaining to young people that for the first six years of the iPhone’s existence, it was a universal phone. And that size was tiny — The original iPhone debuted with a 3.5-inch screen, and that grew to 4 inches with the iPhone 5. Even as Apple introduced multiple models in 2021, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c had matching 4-inch panels.

It was the iPhone 6 that finally made Apple realize that people might want a bigger screen option—something that the success of Samsung’s Galaxy Note phablets might have had something to do with. In addition to the iPhone 6, which grew to 4.7 inches, Apple introduced the iPhone 6 Plus and its then-expansive 5.5-inch display.

iPhone bigger than 5 inches? everyone whispered then. In the current economic situation?

Jokes aside, splitting screen sizes has proven to be a winning strategy for Apple. Every iPhone launch since then has featured multiple screen sizes — some large, some small — with devices with larger screens typically proving to be the more popular option.

The 2014 iPhone launch event, by the way, may be the most groundbreaking announcement of all time, and not all of them are fondly remembered. On the brighter side, it was the place where we first saw the Apple Watch—the smartwatch would eventually debut in the spring—as well as Apple Pay. On a less cheerful note, U2 made a surprise appearance—no, not a concert to end the event, but the band’s album automatically displayed on your iPhone. It’s safe to say Apple won’t be repeating that feat.

Siri Speaks (iPhone 4s, 2011)

Siri

(Photo source: Tom’s Guide)

Apple called the iPhone 4s launch event “Let’s Talk iPhone,” and it turned out to be a pretty good teaser for a big feature coming to Apple’s phone this year. The iPhone 4s introduced us to Siri, a voice assistant that can answer questions and perform some tasks.

Siri’s progress has been choppy since then, as other voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa have shown more prowess. But Siri remains an integral part of the iPhone experience, and it’s likely to become even more obvious with the arrival of iOS 18.1 later this year, and a revamped Siri that better understands context.

Just give me a version of Siri that Martin Scorsese could use in 2012 and I’ll be completely satisfied.

Apple iPhone 4S – starring Martin Scorsese – YouTube
Apple iPhone 4S - starring Martin Scorsese - YouTube

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No headphone jack (iPhone 7, 2016)

iPhone 7

(Photo source: Tom’s Guide)

It seemed crazy at the time—removing a fully functional 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to free up more space inside the device for other components. (Cytonik would argue that it didn’t hurt the AirPods either.) Apple’s public comments about why the headphone jack was gone haven’t calmed the backlash against the move.

“Some people have asked why we removed the analog headphone jack from iPhone,” Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller said at the iPhone 7 event. “It all comes down to one word: courage. The courage to go further, to do something new that outdoes all of us. And our team has a lot of courage.”

Putting aside Apple’s judgments of audacity, it would be fair to say that, eight years later, Apple made the right decision. Whether intentionally or not, AirPods and AirPods Pro are now ubiquitous, and other flagship phone makers have followed Apple’s lead. Sometimes Apple’s decisions fall into a pattern—Apple makes a controversial move that’s widely criticized, but ultimately proves effective—and the headphone jack seems to be the A-1 example of that.

Steve Jobs talking on FaceTime (iPhone 4, 2010)

Apple hasn’t always held iPhone launch events in the fall. In the early days of its product lineup, the company could release phones whenever and wherever it wanted, choosing its annual developer conference to unveil the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4 would have its issues — it was a device that had some connectivity issues due to its antenna placement, leading to Steve Jobs’ infamous response to a customer asking that they were “holding it wrong.” However, the lasting impact of this particular model would be the introduction of FaceTime, the video chat app that is still a staple of the iPhone.

Steve Jobs – One More Thing – FaceTime WWDC 2010 Preview – YouTube
Steve Jobs - One More Thing - FaceTime WWDC 2010 Preview - YouTube

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Not that FaceTime’s debut was without its problems. When I asked my Tom’s Guide colleagues about their most memorable iPhone launch moments, many of them remembered FaceTime’s debut for Jobs’ repeated demands for the audience to turn off their Wi-Fi. (Jobs’ onstage FaceTime conversation with designer Jony Ive included several freezes that Jobs blamed on the Moscone Center’s congested Wi-Fi network.) Minor hiccups aside, FaceTime is clearly built to last, and it’s hard to imagine a time when we couldn’t video chat with someone simply by using the mobile device we had on hand.

Apps Come to iPhone (iPhone 3G, 2008)

App Store

(Photo source: Shutterstock)

When the iPhone debuted, you could use any app you wanted, as long as Apple built and preinstalled it on the phone. That left 15 apps to use—no more, no less. Naturally, iPhone customers demanded that Apple open up its device to outside apps.

Apple’s first response was to suggest that people run web apps through the phone’s built-in Safari browser—a suggestion that was so poorly received that it released an iPhone developer toolkit in March 2008. When the iPhone 3G was announced in June, the availability of third-party apps was already being touted as a feature, even if it may have initially been the result of gritting one’s teeth.

Adding support for third-party apps may have been the best decision Apple ever made. The number of apps available grew, and “there’s an app for that” became a handy slogan for a while. More importantly from Apple’s perspective, the presence of so many apps became a selling point for the iPhone over the growing number of Android devices. Android may be tempting with its greater flexibility, but if you wanted a mobile version of your favorite app, it probably came to iPhone first, if it ever came to Android at all.

The App Store may have grown too large and unwieldy over the years, and app developers may be resentful of both Apple’s approval processor and its share of download fees. But it’s hard to deny that the last 16 years of app madness have not ultimately been a good thing for Apple, software companies, and iPhone users. (It was also a good thing for your humble correspondent, who spent the first few years of the iPhone’s existence reviewing every app he could fit on his iPhone 3G.)

New iPhone design (iPhone X, 2017)

iPhone x

(Photo source: Future)

Remember when the iPhone had large bezels at the top and bottom of the screen so you could fit the Touch ID sensor to unlock your phone? No need to wonder — the iPhone SE (2022) still has that look, and it’s as dated as a suit at this point.

The iPhone X, released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone’s debut, threw out the rulebook on what an iPhone should look like. Now, we may roll our eyes at the notch housing the Face ID sensors and front-facing camera buried in the display, but for a while, it became a look that other smartphone makers tried to copy before turning to the more screen-friendly camera cutouts used today. And even if you never bought into Apple’s design choices for its post-2017 iPhones, eventually the notch had to go for Apple’s Dynamic Island feature to work.

I truly believe the iPhone X is the beginning of the modern era of the iPhone, which continues with this year’s iPhone 16 models. Perhaps Apple is entering a new phase when the iPhone 17 Slim and iPhone Flip finally hit the market, but it’s fair to say the iPhone X has helped Apple’s product line evolve toward a sleeker, more mobile design.

Hello (Original iPhone, 2007)

Well, when it comes to monumental iPhone announcements, it’s hard to beat the first one. One of Steve Jobs’ most famous “One More Things…”, the first iPhone got a taste at Macworld Expo 2007, and it’s safe to say the early look made quite an impression.

“Today we’re introducing three revolutionary products,” Jobs said, to growing applause. “The first is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary cell phone. And the third is a revolutionary Internet communications device. So three things—a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary cell phone, and a revolutionary Internet communications device. An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communications device… you know? These aren’t three separate devices. This is one device, and we call it iPhone.”

From the beginning, the iPhone was meant to combine these three distinct capabilities into a single, easy-to-use device. That’s what’s guided the development of the iPhones we’ve seen since. And it remains the blueprint for whatever form the iPhone 16 models take when they launch this year.