Steve Jobs will be remembered for his revolutionary work in computing during the 1980s, but more recently he orchestrated similar overhauls of the smartphone and tablet industries. We take a look back at each of his key contributions over the past five years.
June 2007 – iPhone
Steve Jobs kickstarted the whole touch-driven smartphone craze with this – the very first iPhone. Launched on June 29 2007 to much mainstream media attention (something that would be a constant), the first Apple phone came with a familiar 3.5-inch LCD screen, a 412MHz processor and 4 or 8 GB of storage.
Of far more interest is what this first effort didn’t have – namely 3G connectivity and Access to the Apple App Store. Both would make an appearance in the following year’s iteration.
July 2008 – iPhone 3G
It could be argued that this is where Steve Jobs’s iPhone vision was first truly realised. The iPhone 3G launch on July 11 2008 with much the same spec as the first gen device. It had the same processor, the same 480 x 320 screen, the same 128MB of RAM and the same 2-megapixel camera.
Of course, the headline hardware addition was in the name – 3G network compatibility – but the biggest addition by far was a software one. One day before launch the iTunes App Store was opened up to the word, and the word ‘app’ entered into the mainstream lexicon. The mobile industry would never be the same again.
June 2009 – iPhone 3GS
Steve Jobs wasn’t around to introduce the iPhone 3GS due to taking a medical leave of absence. When it launched on June 19 2009, it kept the iPhone 3G’s shape while seriously souping up the internals (sound familiar?). This included an all-new 600MHz A8 processor and a much improved graphics chip. The RAM was doubled, a new 32GB model introduced and the camera was bumped up to 3-megapixel.
This was around the time the iPhone became a serious proposition as a gaming device, thanks to its vast improvement in graphics-shifting power.
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April 2010 – iPad
Apple entered into another new field with the iPad on April 3 2010. With its 9.7-inch screen and powerful 1GHz A4 processor, this was a genuine step up in capabilities from the iPhone 3GS, and practically created a new market (though there had been slate devices before).
Interestingly, Steve Jobs later revealed in an interview that “it began with the tablet” - he actually had the idea for the iPad before he thought up the iPhone. At the time, however, it made a lot more sense to create a new smartphone device – both in terms of market needs and technical requirements.
June 2010 – iPhone 4
According to Steve Jobs, the iPhone 4 was “the biggest leap we’ve taken since the original” – and he wasn’t kidding. After three solid iterations of the same basic design, the iPhone 4 broke away with a daring new industrial metal and glass style. The phone was a lot faster than the iPhone 3GS too, with the same A4 processor as could be found in the iPad, not to mention the first decent iPhone camera.
When people criticise the new iPhone 4S’s ‘over-familiar’ design, they should remember the huge departure that its predecessor truly was. To discard it after one iteration would have been sheer stupidity – and that’s one thing Steve Jobs never had much time for.
2011 – iPad 2
Finally, we come to this year – and the last iOS device Steve Jobs ever announced. The iPad 2 was released on March 11, and it was really more a refinement than a radical overhaul of the original. People now forget that a large section of the tech media grumbled at the lack of major changes – it kept the same screen, for one thing.
In truth, the iPad 2 was arguably the device the first iPad should have been – it was skinny, extremely fast (thanks to the new dual-core A5 processor) and had a pair of cameras aimed at video calling and recording.
October 2011 – iPhone 4S
And so we come to the last iDevice of the Steve Jobs era. The iPhone 4S was launched on October 4 2011 – just a day before Steve Jobs passed away. Introduced by new CEO Tim Cook, whom Jobs had long ago elected as his successor, as well as a number of trusted lieutenants, the iPhone 4S emerged more as an iPhone 3GS-style turbo-charging than an iPhone 4-style dramatic overhaul.
It comes with the iPad 2′s dual-core A5 processor, a much improved 8-megapixel camera and the biggest innovation of all – an advanced voice-activated personal assistant called Siri.
