iPhone’s 10th Anniversary: Changes From iPhone to iPhone 7 Plus

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You may have begun to grow tired of hearing about the iPhone’s 10th Anniversary; however, this week, it arrived. And while you may think it will mean that less is going to be said about it, you’re wrong. After all, the iPhone 8 is on the horizon, and as it’s the actual 10th anniversary handset, we’re going to take you down memory lane. Let’s have a look at each generation of Apple’s money spinning smartphones. Comparing them will show you just how far technology has advanced in one decade.

iPhone’s 10th anniversary

Love them or hate them, almost everyone can say that Apple has an eye for design. Fans of the iPhone treat them almost like a fine wine or expensive sports cars. In fact, it can be said with conviction that every fan has at least two favorites among the 10 incarnations. For us, from a pure design and build perspective, the gold iPhone 5s has to be at the top of the list. That handset’s build quality, coupled with the jewelry-like gold finish, was fantastic. In our opinion, it felt like a work of art in the hand, too fragile to be used.

However, the iPhone isn’t all about what we as consumers and critics get out of it. Apple’s reasons for creating it in the first place have played a bigger role in its development. Like any other company you’ve ever heard of, Apple hopes to make a return on its investment, as do investors. As such, from the very first iPhone to the iPhone 7 Plus and beyond the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, each device has returned differently. For the sake of this article, we’re going to look briefly at how each handset changed Apple’s stock price.

iPhone stock up or down?

If we begin with the very first handset, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it had the greatest impact on Apple’s stock price. Its announcement and subsequent release sent the stock soaring by a massive 119%.

From a financial point of view, the second most important iPhone was 2011’s iPhone 4s. Prior to its release, Apple had been getting some negative press due to the 4’s apparent antenna difficulties. If you don’t recall, call quality was an issue for many of Apple’s customers. As such, it focused its attention on correcting that, and the 4s was born. With it came a sharper Retina display and Siri, the company’s now iconic, personal assistant, the first on a smartphone.

As for its impact on consumers and the bottom line, the 4s ranks as the second most influential iPhone to date, as it drove Apple’s stock price up by a staggering 69%.

If you think that the iPhone has always posted positive results for Apple, you’re wrong! We can point to two handsets that both drove down Apple’s stock price. They were the iPhone 6s; iT caused a 15% decline, which must have been difficult to stomach. However, the biggest fall of them all came with the iPhone 5, which sent the stock tumbling by a massive 36%.

It could be said that it just wasn’t as popular as what had come before it, even with a larger 4-inch display, thinner design, and being more lightweight, not to mention it having the far superior A6 chip, 1GB of RAM, and a better front-facing camera.

iPhone 7 Plus before the iPhone's 10th Anniversary
Image Source: iphonedigital/flickr.com

Comparison of iPhone to iPhone 7 Plus

With the iPhone’s 10th anniversary has come a renewed desire for Apple to provide us with an iPhone 8 worthy of the occasion. The problem is that the company is successfully keeping its cards close to its chest. We’ve seen image leaks and even videos, but no one knows for sure what Apple’s plans are. Will we see a September announcement followed by an October or November launch? Right now, your guess is as good as ours, which means all we are left with is the present and the past.

This clearly states that with the iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus, Apple tried to make a statement in 2016. That statement was that it wanted to own the mobile photography space. In fact, during its live keynote address, it stated that the dual-lens camera on the 7 Plus could replace DSLR cameras. We’re not so sure that it did; however, you can bet that with an iPhone 8 on the way, that dual-lens setup will make another appearance, although this time it will be even better.

On the whole though, if you look back over the past generations of the iPhone, apart from the initial few releases, Android devices with their increasing spec sheets and features quickly surpassed the iPhone. iOS has remained the more stable of the two top operating systems. But over the years, from a hardware perspective, Apple’s devices have fallen behind. As such, we can only hope that with its continued focus on providing a solid build quality and great performance, Apple will throw in an enormous amount of innovation. That way, the iPhone’s 10th anniversary edition can be one to truly celebrate.

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