Gadgets Now | Gadgets Now Bureau 06 Sep, 2022, 01:34PM IST

In 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the very first iPhone laying the foundation for where iPhones are today. The iPhone traded¯ the keyboard for a 3.5-inch touchscreen and brought the good old home button. It was capable of connecting to the internet but did not have support for 3G.

The second iPhone to launch was not a big upgrade; however, it did solve the issues with the original one. The second-gen iPhone came with support for 3G connection, as the name implies. Meanwhile, Apple introduced the App Store, developers to build apps for iPhones so users could get the most out of the iPhone.

This is where the S model started, so, like today, the iPhone 3GS offered minor upgrades compared to its predecessor. As per Apple, the 'S' here stands for 'Speed.'Nothing changed except a new processor, twice as fast as the processor powering the last two iPhones.

After three years of run, the iPhone received a redesign. The iPhone 4 brought a flat and square design with a stainless steel chassis and the rear panel made of glass. The fourth-gen iPhone was the first iPhone to have a Retina display, a front-facing camera, and iOS 4 with multitasking support.

The iPhone 4S was not much different than the iPhone 4 though there were some improvements made. The fifth-gen iPhone came with a 8MP rear camera. It was the first iPhone to have Siri, Apple’s digital assistant. Moreover, improvements were made to the antenna design for better signal reception.

The iPhone 5 was the second major redesign as the screen size grew to 4-inches from 3.5-inches. The chassis was made of aluminium, keeping the weight under check. The iPhone 5 ditched the 30-pin charging and brought a reversible lighting port.

The iPhone 5S was much similar to the iPhone 5 but included Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor. Further, the iPhone 5S came with a new 64-bit processor, the A7 chip. Moreover, this was the year when Apple got rid of the skeuomorphic design with the iOS 7.

In 2013, for the very first time, Apple announced two iPhones on the same day – the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. The iPhone 5C, the cheaper of the two, shared the same internals as the iPhone 5 and had a polycarbonate shell instead of metal. Despite its lower price tag, the iPhone 5C did not find many buyers.

In 2014, Apple introduced two iPhones – the iPhone 6 and iPhone Plus – with a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inches Retina display. The new iPhones were slimmer, ditched the flat edges and had improved cameras. However, these iPhones turned out to be the weakest of the lot, suffering from the "Bendgate."

The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus did not change much, but they were sturdier than their predecessors. The glass was said to be tougher, and the aluminium chassis was less prone to bends, so the new iPhones do not end up breaking into two halves. Further, the iPhone 6S' introduced the 3D Touch.

The iPhone SE arrived with the same design as the iPhone 5s but internals of the iPhone 6S’. This can be hailed as Apple’s true attempt at making iPhones affordable.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus came with better cameras and water resistance. The iPhone 7 Plus model had a new dual-camera system with 2x zoom and a Portrait Mode. The headphone jack was removed as the AirPods joined Apple's ecosystem. Moreover, the mechanical Touch ID was replaced by a digital one.

In 2017, Apple released three iPhones at one event; the two of them were successors to the iPhone 7 series – the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The two did not bring any major improvements except a new processor, improved cameras and wireless charging. However, these two were not the talk of the town that year.

The iPhone X was unlike any iPhone we had seen before; it ditched the Touch ID and went edge-to-edge with a notch up top for the Face ID. However, the phone was one of the costliest we have ever seen, and it was the stepping stone for the coming iPhones to come. And the A11 Bionic powering the iPhone X was the first chip from the company to feature a “Neural Engine.”

The iPhone XS’ were the iPhone X with minor upgrades but in two sizes – 5.8-inches and 6.5-inches. This was the first time Apple went over 6-inches for an iPhone but it was the beginning.

The iPhone XR was much similar to the iPhone SE and the iPhone 5C. Firstly, the iPhone XR was priced more affordably compared to the two iPhone XS models. The affordable take on the iPhone XS traded the premium stainless steel chassis for colourful aluminium, and the screen went from OLED back to LCD. Further, the 3D Touch and telephoto camera have departed.

The iPhone 11 was similar to the iPhone XR -- an aluminium chassis, LCD and multiple colours like the XR. However, it had an ultrawide camera - a first for an iPhone. The iPhone 11 was 2019's main iPhone as the company ventured into catering professionals.

With iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, the iPhones went Pro. The two were spiritual successors to the iPhone XS', but they were more than that. The iPhone 11 Pro models brought three cameras -- a wide, an ultrawide and a telephoto. The 11 Pros were one of the first iPhones to charge fast, at 18W.

The iPhone 8 returned as the second-gen iPhone SE in 2020. With pretty much the same specs as the iPhone 8, the iPhone SE rebirthed but with the same chip as the iPhone 11 series.

After three years, iPhones received another redesign, but it was something we had in the past. The iPhone 12 series brought back the flat-edged glass sandwich design of the iPhone 4. Then, there was a smaller -- iPhone 12 mini -- which packed the same punch as the bigger iPhone 12. The two were similar to the iPhone 11, but the iPhone 12 models came with an OLED display, a better chip with 5G connectivity and MagSafe charging for iPhones. Also, this was the year when Apple introduced fast charging on vanilla iPhones and got rid of chargers from the box for iPhones.

The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max were not much different from their predecessors. Truly, they were the members of the iPhone 12 series with some minor upgrades such as a LIDAR sensor, 5G and support for Pro-res.

The iPhone 13 and 13 mini builds on top of last year’s iPhone. There were no major upgrades except a new chip, there were new sensors borrowed from the iPhone 12 Pro paired with new lenses. Everything was pretty much still the same except the cameras being diagonally arranged. Apple also announced the “Cinematic Mode,” the company’s take on portrait videos.

The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max were not much different from the previous two Pro iPhones. The two did introduce 120Hz display on iPhones, the very first iPhones. The iPhone 13 Pro models improved vastly on camera. The iPhone 13 Pro brought 3x optical zoom, macro photography, and better low-light performance.

The new iPhone SE came with the same old design, which now is about 5 years old. However, Apple graced it with the new A15 Bionic bringing support for 5G connectivity.

Apple has announced the "Far Out," where we will see the new iPhones. Rumours are rife that Apple will drop the mini-sized iPhone for a larger iPhone 14 Max. Further, the non-Pro iPhones might not be in for upgrades. Meanwhile, the Pro iPhones are said to get a new pill-shaped cutout, a new A16 chip and a 48MP main camera.