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I would argue that they invented the modern form factor of a smartphone, and a lot of the software design principles that go along with it. If you handed a kid

I would argue that they invented the modern form factor of a smartphone, and a lot of the software design principles that go along with it. If you handed a kid an iPhone 2G plus a bunch of BlackBerries and Palm Treos from 2007 and asked them to classify the devices, I bet they would only call one of them a "smartphone".

wpietri 4y ago
If by "the modern form factor" you mean the slab of glass with a virtual keyboard, sure. Good for them. (Actually, I didn't look; maybe somebody else did that first. But I'll assume you checked.) They also did a bunch of the "crossing the chasm" work, and they marketed the hell out of it. But that is distinct from inventing the smartphone. Apple generally doesn't invent things; they let other people invent and pioneer the space, and then they come in with a consumer-focused design and marketing operation to produce luxury products and capture the high end of consumer revenue. Good for them, and they've been richly rewarded for it. But let's not pretend that we should think like 7 year olds just so we can avoid being accurate about who invented what.
- BlueTemplar 4y ago
  Apple didn't even do that first... or at least weren't alone doing that (though their competitors quickly failed for one reason or another, until Android)
  - babypuncher 4y ago
    Before the iPhone was shown off in 2007, Android was being built for devices that looked like BlackBerries, complete with the little trackball. The first consumer Android devices came in 2008, looking a lot more like the iPhone than the BlackBerry-esque prototypes, but they kept the trackball because much of the software was still more suited for navigation with that than with the touchscreen.
    - BlueTemplar 4y ago
      I'm thinking rather of competitors the name of which I forgot, that came out at the same time or slightly before the iPhone, that had the new capacitive touchscreen tech (and used it for a full sized screen with a simulated keyboard), but little else in terms of "support" needed for a successful phone.

wpietri 4y ago

If by "the modern form factor" you mean the slab of glass with a virtual keyboard, sure. Good for them. (Actually, I didn't look; maybe somebody else did that first. But I'll assume you checked.) They also did a bunch of the "crossing the chasm" work, and they marketed the hell out of it. But that is distinct from inventing the smartphone. Apple generally doesn't invent things; they let other people invent and pioneer the space, and then they come in with a consumer-focused design and marketing operation to produce luxury products and capture the high end of consumer revenue. Good for them, and they've been richly rewarded for it. But let's not pretend that we should think like 7 year olds just so we can avoid being accurate about who invented what.

BlueTemplar 4y ago
Apple didn't even do that first... or at least weren't alone doing that (though their competitors quickly failed for one reason or another, until Android)
- babypuncher 4y ago
  Before the iPhone was shown off in 2007, Android was being built for devices that looked like BlackBerries, complete with the little trackball. The first consumer Android devices came in 2008, looking a lot more like the iPhone than the BlackBerry-esque prototypes, but they kept the trackball because much of the software was still more suited for navigation with that than with the touchscreen.
  - BlueTemplar 4y ago
    I'm thinking rather of competitors the name of which I forgot, that came out at the same time or slightly before the iPhone, that had the new capacitive touchscreen tech (and used it for a full sized screen with a simulated keyboard), but little else in terms of "support" needed for a successful phone.