Company and Product History
The evolution of the Iphone started with a request from Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs. He wanted the engineers to start investigating the possible use of touchscreen devices and tablet computers. After a lot of testing they realized that it was possible to achieve these products, and in 2004 they tested the Iphone beta and it’s ability. This was only a test but in 2007 they released the first Iphone to the public.
They announced the news of the new phone and it’s ability to support a third party application on the Macworld confrence that year. Steve Jobs believed that phones were going to be very important devices when it came to portable information access. That’s why the company really focused on the Iphone to have an excellent synchronization software.
But before the Iphone came in 2007, Apple Inc had created a lot of success for themselves with other products as well. In 2001 they came out with Itunes in a partnership with ROKR, but in the beginning it was only available on the Ipod. Apple wanted to be true to their own ideas, so in 2006 they discontinued their partnership with ROKR.
The Ipod was released in 2001 and was a huge success for Apple before the Iphone came. It was a consumer favorite and they sold over 400 mill units. But Apple knew that the days were numbered when it came to the Ipod because of the new smartphones. Knowing that the smartphone would get music capacity created the death of the Ipod, but it was an important step for the company to evolve.
The year of the Iphone launch, Apple paid over 1 million dollars for the domain name Iphone.com. This was a really neccessary investment and even today that domain name is their home page. Apple wanted independence so they could create the phone they envisioned themselves. They had control over the design, manufacturing and marketing. Steve wanted to reinvent the phone and make it cheaper, faster, available in more countries, compatible for third party apps and more suited for buisness. That was his vision for how the Iphone would continue to evolve.
When apple was thinking of a name for the new smartphone, they had several ideas. They considered calling it «telepod» This was a new futuristic twist to the word telephone. They also considered calling it a «mobi» short for mobile. In the end they ended up with the name «Iphone» and it was the perfect continuation of the Ipod and later the Ipad.
Even the first Iphone was nearly all screen. Apple’s chief of design, Jonathan Ive was credited for the Iphones size, style, and shape. The week before the Iphone was released to the public, the Iphone actually had a hard plastic screen. Steve noticed how easily it got marks and scratches so he knew they had to change it right away. Apple was then part of a making a new, reinforced glass to have on the phone. The new glass was called Chemcor and could withstand 100,000 pounds per square inch. A normal glass could only withstand 7,000 pounds.
Since then Apple has added new features to the Iphone rapidly through the years. Even in the beginning the Iphone was truly unique with the touchscreen, email, web browsing, searching and maps. After that they also updated the visual voicemail. From 2007, the year the first Iphone came and until today Apple has released many new versions and new updates of the Iphone. In 2011 they updated the phone and added Siri and Icloud. The two years after that they also added the 4G LTE, new colors, slo mo camera, touch ID. In the years leading up to today they’ve released even more updates like Apple pay, no headphone jack, wireless charging, all screen phone, face ID and much more. Apple is always trying to make the Iphone better and the older models get discontinued regularly after two years because of this.
Apple set the tone for the smartphone market and brought a new era of personal computing devices. They changed mobile phone history when they made their gorgeous, easy-to-use interface for the Iphone. Today almost all the smartphones in the world are built using Apple’s design concept. When the Iphone first came it was revolutionary. It was small, light and easy to put in your pocket. In reality, the worlds first handheld computer. Today you see someone with an Iphone in their hand everywhere. Apple has had a huge success with all the Iphones and they’re forever evolving even better versions.
Iphones Brand Identity
As I see it, the Iphones brand identity is «Everything and beyond» Today you have everything you need on your phone and it has become a part of everyone’s lifestyle. There are endless of apps and possibilities when it comes to lifestyle planning, maps, interests, entertainment etc. The Iphone brand identity is connecting people together and also having the possibility of pretty much anything at the touch of a fingertip.
Today everything is online and being done digitally so you almost need the smartphone with you to keep up. This can also be overwhelming and addicting in some ways. The Iphone gives you a connection to the whole world in a second if you want it. That’s what makes it so intruiging to use. It also combines pleasure and neccessity. Having a calculater, maps, calender and notes on you at all time can always come in handy. That’s another identity for the brand. Making the consumers life easier and more convenient with the Iphone. The Iphone is a multi-purpose smartphone giving you an enormous access to the world at your fingertips.
Current Positioning
Today the Iphone is featured worldwide as the most popular smartphone for the consumers. Out of all the smartphones sold in the world Apple profits 80% of the units. This means that almost all the other companies lose a little money for each smartphone they sell. This only shows how popular and successful the Apple company is with the Iphone.
Apple has positioned itself as a stylish, easy-going, cool, innovative, casual and a friendly brand. The brand has consumers with a big age gap as well, but their products can offer each consumer what they’re searching for. The company focuses a lot on peoples emotions, lifestyle, imagination, passion, hope, dreams and aspiration. Since their product is so consumer friendly for everyone, it’s up to the people how they want to fulfill the purpose of the Iphone. I think Apple wants to make people’s lives easier and have a genuine connection to their customers as well.
Strategy behind the Iphone
I think the strategy when making the Iphone was first to just test if it was possible. They did a lot of testing and samples before getting the fist version of the smartphone. I think steve Jobs and the companies strategy was to be the first to manage to create a smartphone with a touchscreen and abilities to have a third-party app.
They were thinking futuristic and evolving their company even more. The strategy was to make it unique and something new. Something people hadn’t seen before and wanted to experience themselves. Steve Jobs first idea was creating a tablet, but when he saw the outcome he realized that a phone would be even better. I think a really important part of their strategy was all the testing they did on the beta Iphone and just believing it was possible. Apple created a new era for smartphones and the design concept for how to make them, so I think they definitely succeeded with their strategy and goals for the product.
Company research
Like I said before, the first idea was to make a tablet, but they changed the concept to a smartphone instead. When they started out crafting the Iphone and got the result, it wasn’t as extravagant as it is today. They had to make the beta from what they at least knew a little bit from the start. The first Iphone had a better version interface than the Ipod, but was made with the Ipod as a model.
There were phones with better storage and camera than the Iphone at the time, but the thing that made the Iphone so unique was that it represented a handheld computer. I think the designers and the company really did their research when it came to how they could get the normal computer features into a pocket sized phone. That was a big part of their new version of the phone at the time, and a company goal. After that first launch I think the company haven’t stopped researching new ways to increase the ability of the Iphone and evolving their company even more.
Visual Element
People may wonder how an apple has anything to do with the Iphone and a company focused on technology. After researching the history of the company I found out that the Apple logo actually fits the brand perfectly. But first, let’s go back to the first logo the company had.
Ronald Wayne was co founder of Apple computer co in 1970 and created the first company logo. Back then Isac Newton represented the brand. He revolutionized science with his discovery of gravity. And how did he discover this? Yes, an apple fell on his head! Now you probably understand the connection more. Apple’s first logo was Isac Newton sitting under an apple tree as you can see below.
When Steve Jobs took over he thought the logo was too old fashioned for the company. That’s when he hired graphic designer Rob Janoff who created the world-renowed logo of the bitten apple. As you can understand they took a part of the first concept and what it represented, but minimalized it to a more modern look. When they first created the Apple logo it was filled with a rainbow color. Steve Jobs wanted this because he thought this would «humanize» the company more.
After having that logo for a while they wanted to change it again to make it more suitable and elegant for all colors. So with that in mind they changed the color to grey with a metallic look. The new logo created a «glass» theme and it was the next evolution for the logo. Today it’s more flat in the color and you can mainly see the logo in three colors. (black, white, grey)
Sources:
Thinkmarketingmagazine.com
Wikipedia.com
Historycooperative.com
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/understanding-the-real-innovation-behind-the-iphone/
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