In under a decade, Apple recently celebrated an incredible milestone – more than one billion iPhones have been sold. And unlike most smartphones on the market, always at impressively high prices. There wasn’t a great deal of fanfare about this accomplishment, amidst all the talk about how the bloom is off the iPhone rose.
That said, Apple turned the smartphone into a mass market device that vaults it ahead of just about every other gadget and device ever made. And the advent of apps (as we discussed when their App Store had its 8th birthday last month) helped propel iPhone into history books.
But perhaps the most impressive fact about the iPhone isn’t just how many are in circulation – it’s how it changed our lives.
Consider that before the iPhone existed:
- We got lost
- There were no selfies
- We couldn’t always identify that song on the radio
- We got bored in the dentist’s waiting room
- We walked into the family room to watch TV
- We played solitaire with a deck of cards
- We missed many of life’s best moments if we forgot the camera
- We stayed up for the 11 o’clock news
- There was a Rolodex on our desks
- We carried a Walkman around to listen to the radio
- We hailed taxis
- We couldn’t see our families until we got home
- We printed out our boarding passes
- Pokémon characters were on physical cards
I’m sure I’ve left out a few things. Life before the iPhone wasn’t Neanderthal, but it sure was different.
And by the way, it took McDonald’s 23 years to sell that one billionth burger.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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I wonder how long it will take them to sell a billion more…
Unless there’s something truly amazing in the iPhone7, probably a long time. Thanks, Vinson.