How the iPhone Became the Everything Machine

Remember this little guy?

Yeah, this is an OG iPhone.

Wish it a happy birthday because it's a decade old.

When Apple first unveiled the iPhone,

it was a huge deal.

People waited in line for days

just to get their hands on one.

Oh wait, I guess people still wait in line.

Why?

Because the promise of the iPhone has always been

one device with everything you need inside.

Even if you spit on all things Cupertino

and swear allegiance to the Droid,

your life has probably been changed

by this pocket sized device

and all the versions that followed.

And just make a giant screen,

a giant screen.

In the beginning, the iPhone was this brilliant mashup

of iPod and the internet.

And did we mention that you can make

phone calls with this thing?

Hello?

Yeah, I'm kinda busy right now.

It wasn't the first smartphone and it had some limitations,

like couldn't copy and paste text or shoot video,

not to mention that it was $500,

which was a lot of dough for the time.

But it was just the sleekest thing.

Touchscreen keyboard and a pinch to zoom,

practically magic in 2007.

As the iPhone grew, it got GPS and a sweet camera

and a virtual assistant called Siri,

plus a constellation of apps that would change everything

from how you bought movie tickets to how you get a date.

The iPhone spread around the world

and even went into orbit.

Along the way, it became one of the most influential

consumer products of all time,

changing how billions of people tap, swipe,

and interact with their devices.

So, what about the next 10 years?

Well, the iPhone at 20 might be a slab of a glass

and aluminum, but imagine what the artificial intelligence

inside might do.

It might plan your day based on your calendar

and the weather and traffic conditions,

or it might use your contacts

to automatically send your mom her favorite flowers

on Mother's Day.

Or Siri might even learn how to tell a decent joke.

Siri, tell me a joke.

[Siri] I can't, I always forget the punchline.

Whatever the future versions of the phone look like,

the legacy of the iPhone decade

will be in how it completely changed

the way we use these things.

A phone went from a device that makes calls

to a mobile computer that does,

well, everything.

Siri, give us a rap.

[Siri] Okay, here goes.

I wrote this one myself.

Apologies in advance to The Sugarhill Gang.

I said to hip-hop, save me from the clippie,

the peak, peek and pop and you don't stop.

Space rocket, to the pong-pong, the dougie,

say up jump the doozie,

to the rhythm of the ontology.

I feel really bad for making everyone in the office

listen to that.