Smartphones
The computer in a pocket. The iPhone keynote and the Android response, the app store, cameras and sensors, the supply chain, and a device more people own than have running water.
Part of Technology
20 moments in this segment.
- - iPod Keynote - Steve Jobs. October 23, 2001. Steve Jobs pulls the iPod from his jeans pocket: "1,000 songs in your pocket." The keynote template for every Apple launch that followed.
- - iPod. October 23, 2001. Apple launches the iPod, "1,000 songs in your pocket." 450M units sold over its lifetime; the device that brought Apple back from the brink and led directly to the iPhone.
- - iTunes Music Store. April 28, 2003. Apple launches the iTunes Music Store with 200,000 songs at $0.99 each. By 2010 the world's largest music retailer. Killed Napster, paved the way for Spotify, transformed how music was sold.
- - iTunes Music Store Launch. April 28, 2003. Steve Jobs introduces the iTunes Music Store. 200,000 songs at $0.99. The first commercially-viable legal digital music store.
- - iPhone Keynote. January 9, 2007. Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone at Macworld. "An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator." Shipped June 29, 2007. The most consequential consumer product launch of the 21st century.
- - iPhone Keynote - Macworld 2007. January 9, 2007. Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone. "An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator." The 90-minute keynote routinely voted the greatest product unveiling in tech history.
- - iPhone - "Hello" Commercial. June 2007. The "Hello" iPhone commercial: a montage of classic film/TV characters saying hello on the phone. Aired during the 79th Academy Awards.
- - First Android Phone. September 23, 2008. HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1, the first Android phone. By 2024, 3+ billion active Android devices. The platform that ate the rest of the smartphone market.
- - HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1 Launch. September 23, 2008. T-Mobile launch event for the HTC Dream. The first Android phone; physical keyboard, trackball, side-slide form factor.
- - App Store Launches. July 10, 2008. Apple announces the App Store with 500 apps. Created the entire modern mobile-software industry within two years.
- - iPad Keynote - 2010. January 27, 2010. Steve Jobs introduces the iPad. "A truly magical and revolutionary product." 15M units sold in year one; created the modern tablet category.
- - Samsung Galaxy S Launches. June 2010. Samsung Galaxy S launches, first major Android challenger to the iPhone. By 2024 Samsung has shipped 1+ billion Galaxy units; the most successful non-Apple smartphone family.
- - Siri Demo - iPhone 4S Keynote. October 4, 2011. Apple's Siri demo at the iPhone 4S keynote, first major voice-assistant baked into a consumer phone. Set the bar for Alexa, Google Assistant, and the modern voice-AI category.
- - Apple Watch - "One More Thing". September 9, 2014. Tim Cook ends the iPhone 6 keynote with "we have one more thing", Apple Watch. Apple's first new product category since the iPad.
- - iPhone 15 Pro USB-C. September 12, 2023. iPhone 15 Pro switches to USB-C, Apple's response to EU charging-port mandate. The end of Lightning after 11 years.
- - Hank Green iPhone Demo. 2023-2024 viral genre. Tech YouTubers demoing one feature in extreme depth. Hank Green, MKBHD, iJustine, Linus all in their stride. The era when tech reviews became a genre rivaling cable news.
- - Humane AI Pin Demo. April 2024. Humane AI Pin launch reviews, Marques Brownlee's "Worst Product I've Ever Reviewed" became one of the most-cited tech-review takedowns of the decade.
- - Apple Intelligence Keynote. June 10, 2024. Apple announces Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024. "AI for the rest of us." Partnership with OpenAI; on-device processing.
- - WWDC 2024 Keynote. June 10, 2024. Apple WWDC 2024. Apple Intelligence reveal. Tim Cook in person; massive emphasis on on-device processing as differentiator from cloud-AI competitors.
- - Apple Foundation Models. June 9, 2025. WWDC 2025: Apple opens its on-device Foundation Models to third-party developers. The first major mobile-AI platform shift since the iPhone.
