

iPhone: The 5-Year-Old That Changed the World - JOfferijns
http://mashable.com/2012/06/29/iphone-5-anniversary-infographic/

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jusben1369
I would have said 6 or 7 if asked. It seems like a lot has happened in that 5
years.

The thing that strikes me about the iPhone, and everyone has their own thing,
is this contradiction. For me upon it's release it was so revolutionary. It
was such a massive monumental change from its closest rival (Blackberry) in
the way it looked, felt and worked. Since that time though, it really has done
some small iterations and changed very little. Maybe the two are directly
related.

Now to those that will go bananas on (it hasn't changed that much) imagine
someone who has never seen any of these phones. Put a 1st gen iPhone next to
the comparable blackberry at the time. Then put a 1st gen next to the most
recent release. Think of how different each of those two experiences would
feel.

~~~
sfny
For me, it has everything to do with avoiding pain points on the consumers
end. Keeping a consistant design/feel means Apple doesn't have to teach
consumers new skills. Other platforms have to differentiate with size, shape,
and OS. Each one requeres a transitional learning period.

Take siri for example. Apple is running a ton of celebrity ads just to show
people how to use it, because siri is too different for the average person.
Luckily for Apple, its just a feature, not the core product. Just like a new
Android device, people will get used to siri eventually. The difference is the
iPhone consistency makes the essential phone experience seamless.

~~~
Splines
One of the big things that Apple got amazingly right was the App Store install
process. From a Linux perspective it's mostly an evolution, but for the
mainstream customer that has had to deal with Windows installers it's unreal
how easy it is.

I saw this link in one of the comments in the microsoft.com design preview
post:

[http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-
an-...](http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-an-epic-bill-
gates-e-mail-rant/)

Contrast that to how easy it is to install something on iOS. It's little
wonder that people don't mind paying for iOS apps - they're easy and cheap.

~~~
ajross
It's worth pointing out that the app store is one of the things apple _didn't_
get right 5 years ago. It came later, after they'd spent almost a year
claiming that the proper software extension mechanism was web apps. Obviously
that doesn't detract from its success, but I think it's an important part of
history. The app ecosystem that we all associate with "iOS" beat Android to
market by only about 6 months.

~~~
DeepDuh
Yet 6 months was apparently enough - Apple's Appstore is still ahead.

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schiffern
Terrible charts. In the line charts you _should_ be comparing height, but the
way they're rendered suggests that area should be compared. This is the most
egregious: [http://8.mshcdn.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/06/iphone-5-year...](http://8.mshcdn.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/06/iphone-5-years-statista-972.jpg) The iPhone revenue
has less than half the area but the value is actually bigger.

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tcdent
Waited in line for it the day it was released and still carry a first-gen in
my pocket everyday. An amazingly solid piece of hardware. I know I'm missing
out on new features, but I can't help wondering just how long it will go for.

~~~
ConstantineXVI
I wish they'd do a new aluminium-based design. My mom's still using my old
('08?) Nokia E71 that also has a metal body, and it barely looks a day old
(not just wrt wear, if it weren't for the keyboard you'd never know it was
made four years ago). My Nexus doesn't feel anywhere near as solid, and I've
seen way too many iPhone 4s with cracked glass (and the 3G design gets messed
up _way_ too easily). A new Al-based iPhone 5 might tempt me over (doubting
it, thanks to the NFC rumors)

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chj
it is still hard to believe now the man behind it is gone.

~~~
s_henry_paulson
I can assure you that Jonathan Ive is still alive and well.

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drivebyacct2
And it basically still looks exactly the same. I suppose you can decide if
that's a positive or negative.

