Things You Never Knew About iPhone

1.    When the iPhone was launched in 2007, it was not very well equipped. The first generation lacked 3G connectivity, the camera was below industry benchmark and the first iPhones even came without GPS receiver. Nevertheless it became a huge success. The iPhone also lacked things which were more or less seen absolutely necessary to a top-of-the-line smartphone: An interchangeable battery and an interchangeable mass storage device (SD card for example). If Microsoft would have dared to launch exactly the same product, it would probably be a flop.

2.      The real success story of the iPhone is not the product, it is the business model behind it. Jobs succeeded in creating a smartphone which was also a launch device for paid content. He managed to take money not only from the buyers, but also from the telcos which had to give him a share of the revenue their customers made with the iPhone. The revolutionary idea was not to make a sleek smartphone, but to make a thing which enables everybody to easily buy software, books, movies and music.

3.      Many Apple fans had demanded an Apple cellphone before. Jobs always refused to launch one, because he did not see any potential for huge profits in selling cellphones. It took Apple a couple of years to figure out that the iPhone could be the key to a widespread use of iTunes and the App store. Apple fans also like the idea of an Apple TV set or an Apple car. But up to now Apple management has not been able to figure out a business model which would give them extra profit.

4.      The fate of Apple is completely depending on the iPhone. About two in three dollars revenue are generated by the iPhone. Compared to the iPhone, all other Apple products and operations are not very successful. This is regarded as a problem by many analysts. In the first quarter of 2016 it was the first time since 2007 that iPhone sales did not increase. Things like that are the reason for a sharp drop of the Apple shares, although Apple is an extremely successful company.

5.      In 2015, about 94% of all profits made with smartphones worldwide (!) were earned by Apple.

6.      Some years ago, a guy from Microsoft, who was dealing with the Windows 7 phone launch, told me one major reason for the success of the iPhone: “It was the first smartphone which had a setup procedure entirely tailored to consumers without any computer skills.” Before that smartphones used to be business tools. And most smartphone users got their phone pre-configured by their IT department. So the iPhone was the first smartphone for those without an IT department at hand.

7.      Some 80 percent of all mobile devices worldwide run on Android. Nevertheless the iPhone is the best selling phone (because Android is shared by dozens of brands).

8.      Apple does not allow alternative keyboard apps as a replacement of the original onscreen keyboard provided with iOS. This is for safety reasons.(Apple now allow third party keyboard apps)

9.      Those iPhone users who prefer one of the many Android Wear smartwatches over the Apple watch, can do so. In November 2015 Google launched an iOS version of Google Now. This app is essential to link your Android Wear device to your smartphone. However: There are quite some features which do not work with an iPhone. On the other hand: if you have an Android phone, it will not communicate at all with an Apple watch.

10.   The iPhone is the most used camera for shooting images on Flickr.

The Apple devices are manufactured in China by Foxconn, so here are some of the Foxconn facts:

(picture showing the interior of a factory with people working in it)

·         Foxconn workers are paid $1.78 per hour.

·         12 hours is a typical work shift, according to interviews with Foxconn employees.

·         In one of the worst instances of child labour uncovered at a Chinese factory, Foxconn said 56 children aged between 14 and 16 had been found labouring in its plant in Yantai, Shandong province. (14-year-olds employed on Foxconn factory production line)

·         100 is the estimated number of employees at a Foxconn factory in Wuhan who stood on the roof of a factory building this month to protest working conditions and wages. Several threatened to commit suicide, according to the New York Times.

·         34 continuous hours a Foxconn employee worked in 2010 before he collapsed and died, according to media reports.

·         Despite all of the downsides represented in the previous facts, there is actually a high demand to work for Foxconn. It is reported that every year, when they start hiring new employees, there is a line of over 3000 Chinese citizens who want to work for Foxconn. As seen from the picture below, there are huge lines awaiting potential employment. A recent study said that Foxconn actually employs around 80% of these people in line.

(picture showing a group of people in line)

·         Suicide nets were installed in Spring 2010 when nine Foxconn workers killed themselves during a three-month time period.

(picture showing a part of a building)

I hope this was informative!