It was January 9, 2007, a few months later (June 29 in the United States and in a few selected countries, only in Italy in 2008 with the second version) it would go on the market and definitively change our lives: Steve Jobs, then 52-year-old Apple CEO, unveils for the first time in public the first iPhone model, during the Macworld opening conference.
The first generation of Cupertino smartphones was sold at a price of $399 for the 8GB version and $499 for the 16GB one (which only debuted in 2008): the iPhone 2G reached only 6,1 million units sold, a figure that Apple now reaches in a few weeks and which was greatly improved with the boom of the second model, the iPhone 3G, launched in 2008 in many more countries (including Italy) and with an operating system that integrated the 'App Store.
The record was then set later, with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus ranking first as the world's best-selling smartphones ever: over 100 million units sold. The 2G iPhone presented exactly 13 years ago by Jobs, who would die almost 5 years after that day, October 5, 2011, had characteristics that today seem prehistoric: an 8GB memory, a 3,5 inch display with a resolution of 480×320 pixels, overall dimensions of 115 mm high by 61 mm wide.
The weight of the first iPhone was quite low, about 13 grams, and it was equipped with the innovative iOS 3.1.3 operating system. The technology used was still quad-band GSM EDGE, while later versions progressively adopted UMTS, HSDPA and 4G LTE technologies.
The marketing operation launched by Jobs on January 9, 2007 was so successful that according to a survey of ten Americans interviewed, six knew the precise release date of the iPhone, even before its release. Particularly appreciated all over the world especially for its design, the iPhone soon became a real cult object.
Unforgettable, and perhaps not entirely edifying, the nightly queues outside the Apple Stores all over the world to grab the new releases year after year. Curiosity: the first official purchase of the first iPhone, the one presented 13 years ago, was performed by one Gregory Packer. Packer lined up outside the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City a full 110 hours before the store was due to list the iPhone.
