[pzo]

First iphone didn't have gps, didn't have selfie camera it event didn't have a flashlight, gyroscope or compass.

Also only 2g and wifi g

Not to mention app store was launched 1 year later. Based on that first generation wasn't that much useful. Mass appeal was maybe starting with 3rd generation.

This is just first generation

[chrisco255]

The first iPhone not only had GPS, it had Google Maps built in. Here's the timestamp of Jobs's 2007 presentation, showing the feature: https://youtu.be/vN4U5FqrOdQ?t=2207

Selfie camera was out by the following year. Flashlight was implemented as an app very early on after app store came out. The original version most definitely had gyroscope and compass.

Mass appeal was very much already there when iPhone launched. But it was hamstrung a bit by 2.5G and the exclusive deal with AT&T. Remember, mobile phones used to come with 2 year contracts with heavy cancellation penalties, and 3G took a while to roll out to the U.S. market. Still, it was a smashing success in its first year with 10 million units sold. Remember, back then the mobile market was very fragmented. Devices not only varied dramatically by manufacturer, but some devices could only be found with certain carriers (ie T-Mobile Sidekick). Any model that sold more than 1 million units in a year was considered to be a smashing success.

It was already very obvious what the killer features were or would be on the iPhone at launch.

[pzo]

Check wiki regarding iphone history and specs. Flashlight sensor was added in 3rd generation, gyroscope was in iphone 4 or 3gs - Steve Jobs was showing it off. Selfie camera definitely not yet in second generation. App store was launched with 2nd generation, gps and compass added with second generation. Google maps maybe was in gen 1 but without gps and compass - only for manually browsing maps. First gen iphone camera didnt even record video, or didn't have voice recorder, copy paste didn't work and couldn't send files via Bluetooth as other phones could back then.

My point is many people could see that iphone is gonna be game changer in next year or two but I wasn't that much useful with first generation. In similar way some people also see vision pro will be a game changer in next few years.

Edit: link to wiki iphone spec https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_(1st_generation)

[chrisco255]

The LED flash feature was great, but it was never a make or break feature for a phone. And as mentioned, the earliest LED flash equipped iPhones just used this as a camera flash for night photography, not as a flashlight. You would have to download a special app to leave the light turned on.

The original iPhone had accelerometer for orientation based UI, you're correct that it didn't have gyroscope (or I guess GPS, although it looks like from Jobs's presentation that it was planned). Another great feature. Still doesn't change the fact that the original iPhone had a dozen or so killer features. Everyone of course wanted the iPhone to keep getting better, and from 2.5G to 3G to 3GS to iPhone 4, there was a rapid succession of progress.

You're criticizing the 2007 iPhone for features that virtually no phone had in 2007 (and certainly none did all the things that iPhone did well). I can't name one that had a gyroscope or selfie cam. The top models back then were things like the Motorola Razr and the LG Chocolate:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Razr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Chocolate_Spin_(VX8550)

People often forget how quickly the 3G version of the iPhone was launched after the 2.5G. It took them less than one year to come out with the 3G version.

The iPhone was jaw dropping when it first came out. A lot of sales were held back in first year merely due to the lack of 3G support and high pricepoint (along with AT&T exclusivity).

[seba_dos1]

> You're criticizing the 2007 iPhone for features that virtually no phone had in 2007

Accelerometers were pretty common, and quite a few phones had GPS and selfie cams back then. Nokia N95 from early 2007 had all those things, for example - it even supported 3.5G already. Not sure about gyroscopes though, I believe they only started getting popular in phones later, but even then I doubt iPhone was the first.

iPhone did not get popular because of its features. It rode the iPod's fame and did some interesting (from 2007 perspective) UI choices, that's pretty much it. It didn't even start gaining significant traction outside of the US (where iPods weren't that popular either) until much later.