Introduction
In a time of ordinary cell phones with buttons and arrow keys, the first iPhone represented a revolution in technology that would soon spread to other electronic brands and eventually change the way mobile phones were perceived. It was one of the most notable creations of the 2000s, making Apple even more popular than it was before. The device came with its own advantages and disadvantages, as any other one before it did. The following text will depict some of the shortcomings the company faced when the first iPhone was created and state if this unusual project was successful or not.
Shortcomings
In order to understand some of the complications the brand faced when creating the device, it is crucial to depict the state of mobile phones the year before this item was announced. During the year 2006, smartphones resembled a small rectangular item with a screen at the top and buttons at the bottom. During that time, the leader of the cellphone market was Nokia, with RIM (famous for BlackBerry) being the second one and Motorola being the third.
This led to the first issue Apple faced after the iPhone was announced in early 2007. The introduction of the device was met with serious skepticism. For example, the CEO of Microsoft at that time, Steve Balmer, believed that it would not be able to dominate the smartphone market. He believed that Apple would only get 2% or 3%, thus implying that it was a gamble.
Mike Lazardis and Jim Balsillie, the CEOs of RIM, were rather doubtful of the device’s success as well. Although they admitted that the company was doing quite well, they were certain that their company was not at risk (Silver, 2018). The media was distrustful of the first iPhone as well, making claims that it would fail and depicting some of the complaints regarding the item. However, all of the aforementioned skeptics would be proven wrong as a result, with Ballmer admitting that they were too late with implementing smartphones.
Another problem with the device was its rather high price. While it had multiple advantages, such as the 3.5-inch touchscreen, an onscreen keyboard, and the ability to call, message and keep music files, its price ranged from 499 USD for the 4GB item to 599 USD for the 8GB one. This price implied that the user would be knowledgeable about technology and related to business.
Customer satisfaction was the third issue that the first iPhone would face. For example, the decrease in the price by 33% resulted in the disappointment of Apple’s customers, since they believed that the cut was implemented too early (i.e. after the device had existed on the market for 2 months). Upon receiving multiple complaint letters about the decrease, Steve Jobs wrote a response explaining why it took place and told the customers that they were rather important for the future and success of the company (Mickalowski et al., n.d.). The man then implemented an opportunity for customers to use a 100$ store credit for buying any item at Apple’s stores.
The creation of the touch-sensitive screen was another complication that was faced in the process of creating the device. Wendell Weeks, the CEO of Corning Glass, told Jobs about a special material called “gorilla glass” (Lezama, 2019). It was a strong kind of glass, which, unfortunately, lacked a market prior to being implemented for the iPhone. This explains one issue related to it: none of the plants of the company were making the material. This made Steve’s request for Corning Glass to produce as much of it as possible seem rather unrealistic. Fortunately, this problem was resolved, as glass became one of the most crucial counterparts for smartphones and gorilla glass was being more actively manufactured after Apple bought it.
Design was another feature that complicated the creation of the first iPhone. The first draft implied that the glass screen would be set in an aluminum case. Steve Jobs was so dissatisfied with this design, that he experienced insomnia. He believed that the display should be the main feature of the device; however, the case offered in the first draft would compete with that counterpart instead of not interfering with the display. Moreover, the CEO wanted the design of the iPhone to be more delicate, as the first ideas made it look too masculine.
Success or Failure
In spite of the correlated drawbacks that the first iPhone faced in the process of its creation and introduction to the market, it would be rather inappropriate to refer to it as a failure. The company sold 1.9 million units of the device during its first year in the market. The rise of Apple to domination in the market took a few years since the phone would include extra features and become easier to afford and purchase. This device eventually became one of the most influential inventions in technology, as smartphones with touch-sensitive screens would later be created by other companies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the process of the creation and introduction of the first iPhone to the market was rather complicated. Some of the problems involved customer complaints about the prices, distrust from the media and CEOs of other large electronic companies, and the manufacturing of the now commonplace gorilla glass. However, it would be quite inaccurate to refer to the device as a failure as it sparked a revolution among smartphones, motivating other companies to make such devices. Thus, it is more suitable to call the first iPhone a success, albeit a rather flawed one.
References
Lezama, B. (2019). The one device: Story of the first iPhone – StMU research scholars. StMU Research Scholars. Web.
Mickalowski, K., Mickelson, M., & Keltgen, J. (n.d.). Apple’s iPhone Launch: A case study in effective marketing. Augustana University. Web.
Silver, S. (2018). The story of the original iPhone, that nobody thought was possible. AppleInsider. Web.