IPhone

This article is about the line of smartphones designed by Apple. For other uses, see iPhone (disambiguation).

File:IPhone 4 in hand.jpg

The iPhone 4, the fourth generation of iPhone.

iPhone models
iPhone (original) iPhone 3G iPhone 3GS iPhone 4 iPhone 4S

The iPhone (Template:Pron-en EYE-fohn) is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple. The first iPhone was unveiled by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007. The iPhone 4S was released on October 4, 2011, and a invite was sent out to journalists with the title reading 'let's talk iPhone."

An iPhone can function as a video camera (video recording was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS was released), a camera phone, a portable media player, and an Internet client with email and web browsing capabilities, can send texts and receive visual voicemail, and has both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one. Third-party as well as Apple application software is available from the App Store, which launched in mid-2008 and now has over 500,000 "apps" approved by Apple. These apps have diverse functions, including games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, security and advertising for television shows, films, and celebrities.

There are five generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the five major releases of iOS (formerly iPhone OS). The original iPhone was a GSM phone that established design precedents like screen size and button placement that have persisted through all models. The iPhone 3G added 3G cellular network capabilities and A-GPS location. The iPhone 3GS added a compass, faster processor, and higher resolution camera, including video recording at 480p. The iPhone 4 has a rear facing camera (720p video) and a front facing camera (at a lower resolution) for FaceTime video calling and for use in other apps like Skype. The iPhone 4 also featured a higher-resolution 960x480 display; it was released on June 24, 2010. In the U.S., AT&T was the only authorized carrier until February 10, 2011, when a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 launched for Verizon. On October 4, 2011, Apple announced the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S added a higher resolution camera (8 Megapixel) with 1080p video recording, face detection, and video stabilization, a faster, dual core processor, world phone capability (allowing a single handset to operate on networks based on both GSM/UMTS and CDMA technologies), and a natural language voice control system called Siri. It will be available in 16 GB and 32 GB as well as a new 64 GB capacity. It was also announced that in the U.S. Sprint would begin carrying the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

History and availability

Worldwide iPhone sales by quarter. Sales volume is in millions. Q1 is the holiday season.

  Original iPhone

  iPhone 3G

  iPhone 3GS

  iPhone 4

Main article: History of the iPhone

See also: List of iOS devices

Development of the iPhone began in 2005 with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs' direction that Apple engineers investigate touchscreens. He also steered the original focus away from a tablet, like the iPad, and towards a phone. Apple created the device during a secretive collaboration with AT&T Mobility—Cingular Wireless at the time—at an estimated development cost of US$150 million over thirty months. Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola. Instead, Cingular gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house and even paid Apple a fraction of its monthly service revenue (until the iPhone 3G), in exchange for four years of exclusive U.S. sales, until 2011.

Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007 at the Macworld 2007 convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, at 6:00 pm local time, while hundreds of customers lined up outside the stores nationwide. The passionate reaction to the launch of the iPhone resulted in sections of the media christening it the 'Jesus phone'. The original iPhone was made available in the UK, France, and Germany in November 2007, and Ireland and Austria in the spring of 2008. On Tuesday, September 27, Apple sent invitations for a press event to be held October 4, 2011 at 10:00AM at the Cupertino Headquarters to announce details of the next generation iPhone.

Worldwide iPhone availability:

  Original iPhone was available; now iPhone 4

  iPhone 3GS and 4

  Coming soon

On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the original six. Apple released the iPhone 3G in upwards of eighty countries and territories. Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8, 2009, along with plans to release it later in June, July, and August, starting with the U.S., Canada and major European countries on June 19. Many would-be users objected to the iPhone's cost, and 40% of users have household incomes over US$100,000. In an attempt to gain a wider market, Apple retained the 8 GB iPhone 3G at a lower price point. When Apple introduced the iPhone 4, the 3GS became the less expensive model. Apple reduced the price several times since the iPhone's release in 2007, at which time an 8 GB iPhone sold for $599. An iPhone 3GS with the same capacity now costs $49. However, these numbers are misleading, since all iPhone units sold through AT&T require a two-year contract (costing several hundred dollars and including an early termination fee), and a SIM lock.

Apple sold 6.1 million original iPhone units over five quarters. Recorded sales have been growing steadily thereafter, and by the end of fiscal year 2010, a total of 73.5 million iPhones were sold. By 2010/2011, the iPhone has a market share of barely 4% of all cellphones, but Apple still pulls in more than 50% of the total profit that global cellphone sales generate. Sales in Q4 2008 surpassed temporarily those of RIM's BlackBerry sales of 5.2 million units, which made Apple briefly the third largest mobile phone manufacturer by revenue, after Nokia and Samsung. Approximately 6.4 million iPhones are active in the U.S. alone. While iPhone sales constitute a significant portion of Apple's revenue, some of this income is deferred.

File:3rareiphoneviews.jpg

Three generations of iPhone, shown from behind. Left to right: original, white 3G, black 4.

The back of the original iPhone was made of aluminum with a black plastic accent. The iPhone 3G and 3GS feature a full plastic back to increase the strength of the GSM signal. The iPhone 3G was available in an 8 GB black model, or a black or white option for the 16 GB model. They both are now discontinued. The iPhone 3GS was available in both colors, regardless of storage capacity. The white model was discontinued in favor of a black 8 GB low-end model. The iPhone 4 has an aluminosilicate glass front and back with a stainless steel edge that serves as the antennas. It was at first available in black; the white version was announced, but not released until April 2011, 10 months later.

The iPhone has garnered positive reviews from critics like David Pogue and Walter Mossberg. The iPhone attracts users of all ages, and, besides consumer use, the iPhone has also been adopted for business purposes.

On January 11, 2011, Verizon announced during a media event that it had reached an agreement with Apple and would begin selling a CDMA2000 iPhone 4. Verizon said it would be available for pre-order on February 3, with a release set for February 10. In February 2011, the Verizon iPhone accounted for 4.5 percent of all iPhone ad impressions in the U.S. on Millennial Media's mobile ad network. On March 2, 2011, at the iPad 2 event, Apple announced that they have sold 100 million iPhones worldwide. Leveraging solid volumes and the iPhone's high selling price, Apple became the largest mobile handset vendor in the world, surpassing long-time leader Nokia.

Hardware

Screen and input

The touchscreen is a 9 cm (3.5 in) liquid crystal display with scratch-resistant glass. The capacitive touchscreen is designed for a bare finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing. The screens on the first three generations have a resolution of 320 × 480 (HVGA) at 163 ppi, while that of iPhone 4 has a resolution of 640 × 960 at 326 ppi.

The touch and gesture features of the iPhone are based on technology originally developed by FingerWorks. Most gloves and styluses prevent the necessary electrical conductivity; however, capacitive styli can be used with iPhone's finger-touch screen. The iPhone 3GS and later also feature a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

The top and side of the iPhone 3GS, externally identical to the iPhone 3G. The switches were black plastic on the original model. From left to right, sides: wake/sleep button, SIM card slot, headphone jack, silence switch, volume controls. Top: earpiece, screen.

The iPhone has a minimal hardware user interface, featuring only four or five buttons, depending on the generation. The only physical menu button is situated directly below the display, and is called the "Home button" because it closes the active app and navigates to the home screen of the interface. The home button is denoted not by a house, as on many other similar devices, but a rounded square, reminiscent of the shape of icons on the home screen. A multifunction sleep/wake button is located on the top of the device. It serves as the unit's power button, and also controls phone calls. When a call is received, pressing the sleep/wake button once silences the ringtone, and when pressed twice transfers the call to voicemail. Situated on the left spine are the volume adjustment controls. The iPhone 4 has two separate circular buttons to increase and decrease the volume; all earlier models house two switches under a single plastic panel, known as a rocker switch, which could reasonably be counted as either one or two buttons. Directly above the volume controls is a ring/silent switch that when engaged mutes telephone ringing, alert sounds from new & sent emails, text messages, and other push notifications, camera shutter sounds, Voice Memo sound effects, phone lock/unlock sounds, keyboard clicks, and spoken autocorrections. This switch does not mute alarm sounds from the Clock application, and in some countries or regions it will not mute the camera shutter or Voice Memo sound effects. All buttons except Home were made of plastic on the original iPhone and metal on all later models. The touchscreen furnishes the remainder of the user interface.

The display responds to three sensors (four on the iPhone 4). A proximity sensor deactivates the display and touchscreen when the device is brought near the face during a call. This is done to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs from the user's face and ears. An ambient light sensor adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power. A 3-axis accelerometer senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly, allowing the user to easily switch between portrait and landscape mode. Photo browsing, web browsing, and music playing support both upright and left or right widescreen orientations. Unlike the iPad, the iPhone does not rotate the screen when turned upside-down, with the Home button above the screen, unless the running program has been specifically designed to do so. The 3.0 update added landscape support for still other applications, such as email, and introduced shaking the unit as a form of input. The accelerometer can also be used to control third-party apps, notably games. The iPhone 4 also includes a gyroscopic sensor, enhancing its perception of how it is moved.

A software update in January 2008 allowed the first-generation iPhone to use cell tower and Wi-Fi network locations trilateration, despite lacking GPS hardware. The iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 employ A-GPS, and the iPhone 3GS and 4 also have a digital compass.

Audio and output

One of two speakers (left) and the microphone (right) surround the dock connector on the base of the original iPhone. If a headset is plugged in, sound is played through it instead.

The bottom of the iPhone sports a speaker (left) and a microphone (right) flanking the dock connector. One loudspeaker is located above the screen as an earpiece, and another is located on the left side of the bottom of the unit, opposite a microphone on the bottom-right. The iPhone 4 includes an additional microphone at the top of the unit for noise cancellation, and switches the placement of the microphone and speaker on the base on the unit—the speaker is on the right. Volume controls are located on the left side of all iPhone models and as a slider in the iPod application.

The 3.5 mm TRRS connector for the headphones is located on the top left corner of the device. The headphone socket on the original iPhone is recessed into the casing, making it incompatible with most headsets without the use of an adapter. Subsequent generations eliminated the issue by using a flush-mounted headphone socket. Cars equipped with an auxiliary jack allow for handsfree use of the iPhone while driving as a substitute for Bluetooth.

While the iPhone is compatible with normal headphones, Apple provides a headset with additional functionality. A multipurpose button near the microphone can be used to play or pause music, skip tracks, and answer or end phone calls without touching the iPhone. A small number of third-party headsets specifically designed for the iPhone also include the microphone and control button. The current headsets also provide volume controls, which are only compatible with more recent models. These features are achieved by a fourth ring in the audio jack that carries this extra information.

The built-in Bluetooth 2.x+EDR supports wireless earpieces and headphones, which requires the HSP profile. Stereo audio was added in the 3.0 update for hardware that supports A2DP. While non-sanctioned third-party solutions exist, the iPhone does not officially support the OBEX file transfer protocol. The lack of these profiles prevents iPhone users from exchanging multimedia files, such as pictures, music and videos, with other bluetooth-enabled cell phones.

Composite or component video at up to 576i and stereo audio can be output from the dock connector using an adapter sold by Apple. iPhone 4 also supports 1024x768 VGA output without audio, and HDMI output, with stereo audio, via dock adapters. The iPhone did not support voice recording until the 3.0 software update.

Battery

Replacing the battery requires opening the iPhone unit and exposing the internal hardware

The iPhone features an internal rechargeable battery. Like an iPod, but unlike most other mobile phones, the battery is not user-replaceable. The iPhone can be charged when connected to a computer for syncing across the included USB to dock connector cable, similar to charging an iPod. Alternatively, a USB to AC adapter (or "wall charger," also included) can be connected to the cable to charge directly from an AC outlet. A number of third-party accessories (car chargers, portable chargers, battery cases, stereo dock chargers, and even solar chargers) are also available.

Apple runs tests on preproduction units to determine battery life. Apple's website says that the battery life "is designed to retain up to 80 percent of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles", which is comparable to iPod batteries.

The battery life of early models of the iPhone has been criticized by several technology journalists as insufficient and less than Apple's claims. This is also reflected by a J. D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction survey, which gave the "battery aspects" of the iPhone 3G its lowest rating of 2 out of 5 stars.

If the battery malfunctions or dies prematurely, the phone can be returned to Apple and replaced for free while still under warranty. The warranty lasts one year from purchase and can be extended to two years with AppleCare. Though the battery replacement service and its pricing was not made known to buyers until the day the product was launched, it is similar to how Apple (and third parties) replace batteries for iPods. The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer advocate group, has sent a complaint to Apple and AT&T over the fee that consumers have to pay to have the battery replaced. Since July 2007, third-party battery replacement kits have been available at a much lower price than Apple's own battery replacement program. These kits often include a small screwdriver and an instruction leaflet, but as with many newer iPod models the battery in the original iPhone has been soldered in. Therefore a soldering iron is required to install the new battery. The iPhone 3G uses a different battery fitted with a connector that is easier to replace.

The iPhone 4 is the first generation to have two cameras. The LED flash for the rear-facing camera (top) and the forward-facing camera (bottom) are both unique to that model.

Camera

The original iPhone and iPhone 3G feature a built-in Fixed focus 2.0 megapixel camera located on the back for still digital photos. It has no optical zoom, flash or autofocus, and does not support video recording (iPhone 3G does support video recording via third-party App available on the App Store), however jailbreaking allows users to do so. Version 2.0 of iPhone OS introduced the capability to embed location data in the pictures, producing geocoded photographs.

The iPhone 3GS has a 3.2 megapixel camera, manufactured by OmniVision, featuring autofocus, auto white balance, and auto macro (up to 10 cm). It is also capable of capturing 640x480 (VGA resolution) video at 30 frames per second, although compared to higher-end CCD based video cameras it does exhibit the rolling shutter effect. The video can then be cropped on the device itself and directly uploaded to YouTube, MobileMe, or other services

The iPhone 4 introduced a 5.0 megapixel camera (2592x1936 pixels), also located on the back, which is equipped with a backside illuminated sensor capable of capturing pictures in low-light conditions, as well as an LED flash capable of staying lit for video recording at 720p resolution, considered high-definition. iPhone 4 is the first iPhone that has the high dynamic range photography feature. In addition the iPhone 4 has a second camera on the front capable of VGA photos and SD video recording.

Regardless of the source, saved recordings may be synced to the host computer, attached to email, or (where supported) sent by MMS. Videos may be uploaded to YouTube directly.

Beta code pulled from iOS 5 suggests that the next feature to be released will allow users to capture a panoramic photo on their iPhone.

Storage and SIM

An iPhone 3G with the SIM slot open. The SIM ejector tool is still placed in the eject hole.

The iPhone was initially released with two options for internal storage size: 4 GB or 8 GB. On September 5, 2007, Apple discontinued the 4 GB models. On February 5, 2008, Apple added a 16 GB model. The iPhone 3G was available in 16 GB and 8 GB. The iPhone 3GS came in 16 GB and 32 GB variants and still is available in 8 GB. The iPhone 4 is available in 16 GB and 32 GB variants. All data is stored on the internal flash drive; the iPhone does not support expanded storage through a memory card slot, or the SIM card.

GSM Models of the iPhone use a SIM card to identify themselves to the GSM network. The SIM sits in a tray, which is inserted into a slot at the top of the device. The SIM tray can be ejected with a paperclip or the "SIM eject tool" (a simple piece of die-cut sheet metal) included with the iPhone 3G and 3GS. In most countries, the iPhone is usually sold with a SIM lock, which prevents the iPhone from being used on a different mobile network.

The GSM iPhone 4 features a MicroSIM card that is located in a slot on the right side of the device.

The CDMA model of the iPhone, like all CDMA phones, does not use a SIM.

Liquid contact indicators

The iPhone is equipped with liquid contact indicators which change from white to red in color when they come in contact with water. These suggest whether water damage has affected the device. The indicators on the iPhone include a small disc which is located at the bottom of the headphone jack and with the iPhone 3G and all later models an additional one is located at the bottom of the dock connector. The indicators are often used by Apple employees to determine whether the device qualifies for a warranty repair or replacement. If the indicators show that the device was exposed to water, they may determine that the device is not covered by Apple. However, the liquid contact indicators may be triggered through routine use, and if a device is worn while exercising, the sweat from an owner may dampen the indicators enough to indicate water damage. On many other mobile phones from different manufacturers, the liquid contact indicators are located in a protected location, such as beneath the battery behind a battery cover, but the indicators on an iPhone are directly exposed to the environment. This has led to criticism of the placement of the indicators, which may also be affected by steam in a bathroom or other light environmental moisture. In response to these criticisms, Apple made a silent change to their water damage policy for iPhones and similar products. This new policy allows the customer to request further internal inspection of the phone to verify if internal liquid damage sensors were triggered.

Included items

File:IPhone 4 box.JPG

The contents of the box of an iPhone 4. From left to right: lid, iPhone 4 in plastic holder, written documentation, and (top to bottom) headset, USB cable, wall charger.

All iPhone models include written documentation, and a dock connector to USB cable. The original and 3G iPhones also came with a cleaning cloth. The original iPhone included stereo headset (earbuds and a microphone) and a plastic dock to hold the unit upright while charging and syncing. The iPhone 3G includes a similar headset plus a SIM eject tool (the original model requires a paperclip). The iPhone 3GS includes the SIM eject tool and a revised headset, which adds volume buttons (not functional with previous iPhone versions). The iPhone 3G and 3GS are compatible with the same dock, sold separately, but not the original model's dock. All versions include a USB power adapter, or "wall charger," which allows the iPhone to charge from an AC outlet. The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS sold in North America, Japan, Colombia, Ecuador, or Peru include an ultracompact USB power adapter.

Model comparison

Main article: List of iPhone models

This table highlights key differences between "generations" of the iPhone.

Model	iPhone	iPhone 3G	iPhone 3GS	iPhone 4	iPhone 4S
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued	Available	Available	Available on Oct. 14, 2011
Display	89 mm (3.5 in) glass LCD, 3:2 aspect ratio
	480 × 320 px (HVGA) at 163 ppi			960 × 640 px at 326 ppi
Storage	4, 8, or 16 GB	8 or 16 GB	8, 16, or 32 GB	8, 16 or 32 GB	16, 32, or 64 GB
CPU Core	620 MHz (underclocked to 412 MHz) ARM 1176JZ(F)-S		833 MHz (underclocked to 600 MHz) ARM Cortex-A8	1 GHz (underclocked to 800 MHz) Apple A4	Apple A5 Dual Core
Memory	128 MB DRAM		256 MB DRAM	512 MB DRAM	1024 MB DRAM
Features	USB 2.0/dock connector	In addition to previous: assisted GPS, includes earphones with mic	In addition to previous: voice control, digital compass, Nike+, includes earphones with remote and microphone	In addition to previous: 3-axis gyroscope, Dual-microphone noise suppression, microSIM
Camera	2.0 MP, still images only		3.0 MP 30 frame/s VGA video	Rear 5.0 MP Front 0.3 MP (VGA) Rear 30 frame/s 720p HD video Front 30 frame/s 480p VGA video	Rear 8.0 MP Front 0.3 MP (VGA) Rear 30 frame/s 1080p HD video Front 30 frame/s 480p VGA video
Materials	Aluminum, glass and black plastic	Glass, plastic, and steel; black or white (white not available for 8 GB models)		Black or white aluminosilicate glass and stainless steel
Power	Built-in, non removable, rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery
Released	4 and 8 GB: June 29, 2007 16 GB: February 5, 2008	July 11, 2008	16 and 32 GB: June 19, 2009 Black 8 GB: June 24, 2010	GSM (Black): June 24, 2010 CDMA (Black): February 10, 2011 GSM and CDMA (White): April 28, 2011 8 GB: October 4, 2011 (Available from Oct 14, 2011)	October 14, 2011
Discontinued	4 GB: September 5, 2007 8 and 16 GB: July 11, 2008	16 GB: June 8, 2009 Black 8 GB: June 4, 2010	16 and 32 GB: June 24, 2010 Black 8 GB: In production	16 and 32 GB: October 4, 2011 8 GB: In production	In production

Software

Main articles: iOS (Apple) and iOS version history

File:IOS43GS.PNG

The default Home screen of iOS 4.2.1 shows most of the applications provided by Apple. Users can download additional applications from the App store, create Web Clips, rearrange the icons, and create and delete folders.

The iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad run an operating system known as iOS (formerly iPhone OS). It is a variant of the same Darwin operating system core that is found in Mac OS X. Also included is the "Core Animation" software component from Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard. Together with the PowerVR hardware (and on the iPhone 3GS, OpenGL ES 2.0), it is responsible for the interface's motion graphics. The operating system takes up less than half a gigabyte. It is capable of supporting bundled and future applications from Apple, as well as from third-party developers. Software applications cannot be copied directly from Mac OS X but must be written and compiled specifically for iOS.

Like the iPod, the iPhone is managed from a computer using iTunes. The earliest versions of the OS required version 7.3 or later, which is compatible with Mac OS X version 10.3.9 Panther or later, and 32-bit Windows XP or Vista. The release of iTunes 7.6 expanded this support to include 64-bit versions of XP and Vista, and a workaround has been discovered for previous 64-bit Windows operating systems. Apple provides free updates to the OS for the iPhone through iTunes, and major updates have historically accompanied new models. Such updates often require a newer version of iTunes — for example, the 3.0 update requires iTunes 8.2 — but the iTunes system requirements have stayed the same. Updates include both security patches and new features. For example, iPhone 3G users initially experienced dropped calls until an update was issued.

Interface

The interface is based around the home screen, a graphical list of available applications. iPhone applications normally run one at a time (not including iOS 4, which includes running applications in the background), although most functionality is still available when making a call or listening to music. The home screen can be accessed at any time by a hardware button below the screen, closing the open application in the process. By default, the Home screen contains the following icons: Messages (SMS and MMS messaging), Calendar, Photos, Camera, YouTube, Stocks, Maps (Google Maps), Weather, Voice Memos, Notes, Clock, Calculator, Settings, iTunes (store), App Store, and (on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4) Compass. Docked at the base of the screen, four icons for Phone, Mail, Safari (Internet), and iPod (multimedia) delineate the iPhone's main purposes. On January 15, 2008, Apple released software update 1.1.3, allowing users to create "Web Clips", home screen icons that resemble apps that open a user-defined page in Safari. After the update, iPhone users can rearrange and place icons on up to nine other adjacent home screens, accessed by a horizontal swipe. Users can also add and delete icons from the dock, which is the same on every home screen. Each home screen holds up to sixteen icons, and the dock holds up to four icons. Users can delete Web Clips and third-party applications at any time, and may select only certain applications for transfer from iTunes. Apple's default programs, however, may not be removed. The 3.0 update adds a system-wide search, known as Spotlight, to the left of the first home screen.

Almost all input is given through the touch screen, which understands complex gestures using multi-touch. The iPhone's interaction techniques enable the user to move the content up or down by a touch-drag motion of the finger. For example, zooming in and out of web pages and photos is done by placing two fingers on the screen and spreading them farther apart or bringing them closer together, a gesture known as "pinching". Scrolling through a long list or menu is achieved by sliding a finger over the display from bottom to top, or vice versa to go back. In either case, the list moves as if it is pasted on the outer surface of a wheel, slowly decelerating as if affected by friction. In this way, the interface simulates the physics of a real object. Other user-centered interactive effects include horizontally sliding sub-selection, the vertically sliding keyboard and bookmarks menu, and widgets that turn around to allow settings to be configured on the other side. Menu bars are found at the top and bottom of the screen when necessary. Their options vary by program, but always follow a consistent style motif. In menu hierarchies, a "back" button in the top-left corner of the screen displays the name of the parent folder.

Phone

File:IPhone call screen.png

When making a call, the iPhone presents a number of options, including FaceTime on supported models. The screen is automatically disabled when held close to the face.

The iPhone allows audio conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. For example, if music is playing when a call is received, the music fades out, and fades back in when the call has ended. The proximity sensor shuts off the screen and touch-sensitive circuitry when the iPhone is brought close to the face, both to save battery and prevent unintentional touches. The iPhone does not support video calling or videoconferencing on versions prior to the fourth generation, as there is only one camera on the opposite side of the screen. The iPhone 4 supports video calling using either the front or back camera over Wi-Fi, a feature Apple calls FaceTime. The first two models only support voice dialing through third-party applications. Voice control, available only on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, allows users to say a contact's name or number and the iPhone will dial.

The iPhone includes a visual voicemail (in some countries) feature allowing users to view a list of current voicemail messages on-screen without having to call into their voicemail. Unlike most other systems, messages can be listened to and deleted in a non-chronological order by choosing any message from an on-screen list.

A music ringtone feature was introduced in the United States on September 5, 2007. Users can create custom ringtones from songs purchased from the iTunes Store for a small additional fee. The ringtones can be 3 to 30 seconds long from any part of a song, can fade in and out, pause from half a second to five seconds when looped, or loop continuously. All customizing can be done in iTunes, or alternatively with Apple's GarageBand software 4.1.1 or later (available only on Mac OS X) or third-party tools.

Multimedia

The photo display application supports both portrait and landscape orientations.

The layout of the music library is similar to that of an iPod or current Symbian S60 phones. The iPhone can sort its media library by songs, artists, albums, videos, playlists, genres, composers, podcasts, audiobooks, and compilations. Options are always presented alphabetically, except in playlists, which retain their order from iTunes. The iPhone uses a large font that allows users plenty of room to touch their selection. Users can rotate their device horizontally to landscape mode to access Cover Flow. Like on iTunes, this feature shows the different album covers in a scroll-through photo library. Scrolling is achieved by swiping a finger across the screen. Alternatively, headset controls can be used to pause, play, skip, and repeat tracks. On the iPhone 3GS, the volume can be changed with the included Apple Earphones, and the Voice Control feature can be used to identify a track, play songs in a playlist or by a specific artist, or create a Genius playlist.

The iPhone supports gapless playback. Like the fifth-generation iPods introduced in 2005, the iPhone can play digital video, allowing users to watch TV shows and movies in widescreen. Double-tapping switches between widescreen and fullscreen video playback.

The iPhone allows users to purchase and download songs from the iTunes Store directly to their iPhone. The feature originally required a Wi-Fi network, but now can use the cellular data network if one is not available.

The iPhone includes software that allows the user to upload, view, and e-mail photos taken with the camera. The user zooms in and out of photos by sliding two fingers further apart or closer together, much like Safari. The Camera application also lets users view the camera roll, the pictures that have been taken with the iPhone's camera. Those pictures are also available in the Photos application, along with any transferred from iPhoto or Aperture on a Mac, or Photoshop on a Windows PC.

Internet connectivity

File:Wikipedia on iPhone's Safari.png

Wikipedia Main Page on the iPhone's Safari web browser in landscape mode

Internet access is available when the iPhone is connected to a local area Wi-Fi or a wide area GSM or EDGE network, both second-generation (2G) wireless data standards. The iPhone 3G introduced support for third-generation UMTS and HSDPA 3.6, but not HSUPA networks, and only the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 support HSDPA 7.2. AT&T introduced 3G in July 2004, but as late as 2007, Steve Jobs stated that it was still not widespread enough in the US, and the chipsets not energy efficient enough, to be included in the iPhone. Support for 802.1X, an authentication system commonly used by university and corporate Wi-Fi networks, was added in the 2.0 version update.

By default, the iPhone will ask to join newly discovered Wi-Fi networks and prompt for the password when required. Alternatively, it can join closed Wi-Fi networks manually. The iPhone will automatically choose the strongest network, connecting to Wi-Fi instead of EDGE when it is available. Similarly, the iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 prefer 3G to 2G, and Wi-Fi to either. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G (on the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4) can all be deactivated individually. Airplane mode disables all wireless connections at once, overriding other preferences. However, once in Airplane mode, one can explicitly enable Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth modes to join and continue to operate over one or both of those networks while the cellular network transceivers remain off.

The iPhone 3GS has a maximum download rate of 7.2 Mbit/s. Furthermore, files downloaded over cellular networks must be smaller than 20 MB. Larger files, often email attachments or podcasts, must be downloaded over Wi-Fi (which has no file size limits). If Wi-Fi is unavailable, one workaround is to open the files directly in Safari.

Safari is the iPhone's native web browser, and it displays pages similar to its Mac and Windows counterparts. Web pages may be viewed in portrait or landscape mode and supports automatic zooming by pinching together or spreading apart fingertips on the screen, or by double-tapping text or images. The iPhone supports neither Flash nor Java. Consequently, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority adjudicated that an advertisement claiming the iPhone could access "all parts of the internet" should be withdrawn in its current form, on grounds of false advertising. In a rare public letter in April 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs outlined the reasoning behind the absence of Flash on the iPhone (and iPad). The iPhone supports SVG, CSS, HTML Canvas, and Bonjour.

The maps application can access Google Maps in map, satellite, or hybrid form. It can also generate directions between two locations, while providing optional real-time traffic information. During the iPhone's announcement, Jobs demonstrated this feature by searching for nearby Starbucks locations and then placing a prank call to one with a single tap. Support for walking directions, public transit, and street view was added in the version 2.2 software update, but no voice-guided navigation. The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 can orient the map with its digital compass. Apple also developed a separate application to view YouTube videos on the iPhone, which streams videos after encoding them using the H.264 codec. Simple weather and stock quotes applications also tap in to the Internet.

iPhone users can and do access the Internet frequently, and in a variety of places. According to Google, in 2008, the iPhone generated 50 times more search requests than any other mobile handset. According to Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann, "The average Internet usage for an iPhone customer is more than 100 megabytes. This is 30 times the use for our average contract-based consumer customers." Nielsen found that 98% of iPhone users use data services, and 88% use the internet. In China, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS were built and distributed without Wi-fi.

With the introduction of the Verizon iPhone in January 2011, the issue of using internet while on the phone has been brought to the public's attention. Under the two US carriers, internet and phone could be used simultaneously on ATT networks, whereas the Verizon networks only support for the use of each separately.

Text input

File:IPhone keyboard unblurred.jpg

The virtual keyboard on the original iPhone's touchscreen.

For text input, the iPhone implements a virtual keyboard on the touchscreen. It has automatic spell checking and correction, predictive word capabilities, and a dynamic dictionary that learns new words. The keyboard can predict what word the user is typing and complete it, and correct for the accidental pressing of keys near the presumed desired key. The keys are somewhat larger and spaced farther apart when in landscape mode, which is supported by only a limited number of applications. Touching a section of text for a brief time brings up a magnifying glass, allowing users to place the cursor in the middle of existing text. The virtual keyboard can accommodate 21 languages, including character recognition for Chinese. The 3.0 update brought support for cut, copy, or pasting text, as well as landscape keyboards in more applications.

E-mail and text messages

The iPhone also features an e-mail program that supports HTML e-mail, which enables the user to embed photos in an e-mail message. PDF, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint attachments to mail messages can be viewed on the phone. Apple's MobileMe platform offers push email, which emulates the functionality of the popular BlackBerry email solution, for an annual subscription. Yahoo! offers a free push-email service for the iPhone. IMAP (although not Push-IMAP) and POP3 mail standards are also supported, including Microsoft Exchange and Kerio Connect. In the first versions of the iPhone firmware, this was accomplished by opening up IMAP on the Exchange server. Apple has also licensed Microsoft ActiveSync and now supports the platform (including push email) with the release of iPhone 2.0 firmware. The iPhone will sync e-mail account settings over from Apple's own Mail application, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Entourage, or it can be manually configured on the device itself. With the correct settings, the e-mail program can access almost any IMAP or POP3 account.

Text messages are presented chronologically in a mailbox format similar to Mail, which places all text from recipients together with replies. Text messages are displayed in speech bubbles (similar to iChat) under each recipient's name. The iPhone has built-in support for e-mail message forwarding, drafts, and direct internal camera-to-e-mail picture sending. Support for multi-recipient SMS was added in the 1.1.3 software update. Support for MMS was added in the 3.0 update, but not for the original iPhone and not in the U.S. until September 25, 2009.

Third-party applications

See also: iOS SDK and App Store

At WWDC 2007 on June 11, 2007, Apple announced that the iPhone would support third-party "web applications" written in Ajax that share the look and feel of the iPhone interface. On October 17, 2007, Steve Jobs, in an open letter posted to Apple's "Hot News" weblog, announced that a software development kit (SDK) would be made available to third-party developers in February 2008. The iPhone SDK was officially announced and released on March 6, 2008, at the Apple Town Hall facility. It is a free download, with an Apple registration, that allows developers to develop native applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, then test them in an "iPhone simulator". However, loading an application onto a real device is only possible after paying an Apple Developer Connection membership fee. Developers are free to set any price for their applications to be distributed through the App Store, of which they will receive a 70% share. Developers can also opt to release the application for free and will not pay any costs to release or distribute the application beyond the membership fee. The App Store was launched with the release of iOS 2.0, on July 11, 2008. The update was free for iPhone users; owners of older iPod Touches were required to pay US$10 for it.

Once a developer has submitted an application to the App Store, Apple holds firm control over its distribution. Apple can halt the distribution of applications it deems inappropriate, for example, I Am Rich, a US$1000 program that simply demonstrated the wealth of its user. Apple has been criticized for banning third-party applications that enable a functionality that Apple does not want the iPhone to have: In 2008, Apple rejected Podcaster, which allowed iPhone users to download podcasts directly to the iPhone claiming it duplicated the functionality of iTunes. Apple has since released a software update that grants this capability.

NetShare, another rejected app, would have enabled users to tether their iPhone to a laptop or desktop, using its cellular network to load data for the computer. Many carriers of the iPhone later globally allowed tethering before Apple officially supported it with the upgrade to the iOS 3.0, with AT&T Mobility being a relative latecomer in the United States. In most cases, the carrier charges extra for tethering an iPhone.

Before the SDK was released, third-parties were permitted to design "Web Apps" that would run through Safari. Unsigned native applications are also available for "jailbroken" phones. The ability to install native applications onto the iPhone outside of the App Store is not supported by Apple, the stated reason being that such native applications could be broken by any software update, but Apple has stated it will not design software updates specifically to break native applications other than those that perform SIM unlocking.

In January 2011, Apple has passed 10 billion app downloads.

Accessibility

The iPhone can enlarge text to make it more accessible for vision-impaired users, and can accommodate hearing-impaired users with closed captioning and external TTY devices. The iPhone 3GS also features white on black mode, VoiceOver (a screen reader), and zooming for impaired vision, and mono audio for limited hearing in one ear. Apple regularly publishes Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates which explicitly state compliance with the US regulation "Section 508".

Vulnerability

On July 7, 2011, Apple announced that in new versions of the iOS software, a security problem would be fixed. Users who install their own software without Apple's protections can have their information stolen or unwittingly download malware by clicking on certain PDF files. This discovery of "critical weaknesses" was reported by the German Federal Office for Information Security.

On July 15, 2011, Apple released iOS 4.3.4 (4.2.9 for CDMA iPhone) in response to JailbreakMe 3.0 from comex (a developer). It uncovered a userland PDF exploit that is fixed in this update.

On July 25, 2011, Apple released iOS 4.3.5 (4.2.10 for CDMA iPhone) to fix a security vulnerability with certificate validation.

Intellectual property

Apple has filed more than 200 patent applications related to the technology behind the iPhone.

LG Electronics claimed the iPhone's design was copied from the LG Prada. Woo-Young Kwak, head of LG Mobile Handset R&D Center, said at a press conference, "We consider that Apple copied Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006."

On September 3, 1993, Infogear filed for the U.S. trademark "I PHONE" and on March 20, 1996 applied for the trademark "IPhone". "I Phone" was registered in March 1998, and "IPhone" was registered in 1999. Since then, the I PHONE mark had been abandoned. Infogear's trademarks cover "communications terminals comprising computer hardware and software providing integrated telephone, data communications and personal computer functions" (1993 filing), and "computer hardware and software for providing integrated telephone communication with computerized global information networks" (1996 filing). Infogear released a telephone with an integrated web browser under the name iPhone in 1998. In 2000, Infogear won an infringement claim against the owners of the iphones.com domain name. In June 2000, Cisco Systems acquired Infogear, including the iPhone trademark. On December 18, 2006, they released a range of re-branded Voice over IP (VoIP) sets under the name iPhone.

In October 2002, Apple applied for the "iPhone" trademark in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and the European Union. A Canadian application followed in October 2004, and a New Zealand application in September 2006. As of October 2006, only the Singapore and Australian applications had been granted. In September 2006, a company called Ocean Telecom Services applied for an "iPhone" trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and Hong Kong, following a filing in Trinidad and Tobago. As the Ocean Telecom trademark applications use exactly the same wording as Apple's New Zealand application, it is assumed that Ocean Telecom is applying on behalf of Apple. The Canadian application was opposed in August 2005, by a Canadian company called Comwave who themselves applied for the trademark three months later. Comwave has been selling VoIP devices called iPhone since 2004.

Shortly after Steve Jobs' January 9, 2007 announcement that Apple would be selling a product called iPhone in June 2007, Cisco issued a statement that it had been negotiating trademark licensing with Apple and expected Apple to agree to the final documents that had been submitted the night before. On January 10, 2007, Cisco announced it had filed a lawsuit against Apple over the infringement of the trademark iPhone, seeking an injunction in federal court to prohibit Apple from using the name. More recently, Cisco claimed that the trademark lawsuit was a "minor skirmish" that was not about money, but about interoperability.

On February 2, 2007, Apple and Cisco announced that they had agreed to temporarily suspend litigation while they held settlement talks, and subsequently announced on February 20, 2007, that they had reached an agreement. Both companies will be allowed to use the "iPhone" name in exchange for "exploring interoperability" between their security, consumer, and business communications products.

The iPhone has also inspired several leading high-tech clones, driving both Apple's popularity and consumer willingness to upgrade iPhones quickly.

On October 22, 2009, Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple for infringement of its GSM, UMTS and WLAN patents. Nokia alleges that Apple has been violating ten of Nokia's patents since the iPhone's initial release.

In December 2010, Reuters reported that some iPhone and iPad users were suing Apple Inc because some applications were passing user information to third-party advertisers without permission. Some makers of the applications such as Textplus4, Paper Toss, Weather Channel, Dictionary.com, Talking Tom Cat and Pumpkin Maker have also been named as co-defendants in the lawsuit.

Since April 20, 2011, a hidden unencrypted file on the iPhone and other iOS devices has been widely discussed in the media. The file, labeled "consolidated.db", constantly stores the iPhone user's movement by approximating geographic locations calculated by triangulating nearby cell phone towers, a technology proven to be inaccurate at times. The file was released with the June 2010 update of Apple's iOS4 and may contain almost one year's worth of data. Previous versions of iOS stored similar information in a file called "h-cells.plist". F-Secure discovered that the data is transmitted to Apple twice a day and postulate that Apple is using the information to construct their global location database similar to the ones constructed by Google and Skyhook through wardriving. Nevertheless, unlike Google's "Latitude" application, which performs a similar task on Android phones, the file is not dependent upon signing a specific EULA or even the user's knowledge, but it is stated in the iPhone's 15,200 words long terms and conditions that "Apple and [their] partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of [the user's] Apple computer or device". The file is also automatically copied onto the user's computer once synchronized with the iPhone. An open source application named "iPhoneTracker", which turns the data stored in the file into a visual map, was made available to the public in April 2011. While the file cannot be erased without jailbreaking the phone, it can be encrypted. Apple gave an official response on their web site on April 27 after questions were submitted by users, The Associated Press and others. Apple indicated that the data is a crowd-sourced location database cache, used to make location services faster, and that the volume of data retained was an error; they issued an update for iOS (version 4.3.3, or 4.2.8 for the CDMA iPhone 4) which reduced the size of the cache, stopped it being backed up to iTunes, and erased it entirely if whenever location services were turned off.

Restrictions

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Jailbroken iPod Touch on iOS 3.0. The serial number and Wi-Fi address have been removed from the image.

Apple tightly controls certain aspects of the iPhone. The hacker community has found many workarounds, most of which are disallowed by Apple and threaten to void the device's warranty. "Jailbreaking" allows users to install apps not available on the App Store or modify basic functionality. SIM unlocking allows the iPhone to be used on a different carrier's network.

Activation

The iPhone normally prevents access to its media player and web features unless it has also been activated as a phone with an authorized carrier. On July 3, 2007, Jon Lech Johansen reported on his blog that he had successfully bypassed this requirement and unlocked the iPhone's other features with a combination of custom software and modification of the iTunes binary. He published the software and offsets for others to use.

Unlike the original, the iPhone 3G must be activated in the store in most countries. This makes the iPhone 3G more difficult, but not impossible, to hack. The need for in-store activation, as well as the huge number of first-generation iPhone and iPod Touch users upgrading to iPhone OS 2.0, caused a worldwide overload of Apple's servers on July 11, 2008, the day on which both the iPhone 3G and iPhone OS 2.0 updates as well as MobileMe were released. After the update, devices were required to connect to Apple's servers to authenticate the update, causing many devices to be temporarily unusable. A year later, Apple released the 3.0 software two days before the iPhone 3GS to avoid such issues.

Users on the O2 network in the United Kingdom, however, can buy the phone online and activate it via iTunes as with the previous model. Even where not required, vendors usually offer activation for the buyer's convenience. In the U.S., Apple has begun to offer free shipping on both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS (when available), reversing the in-store activation requirement. Best Buy and Wal-Mart will also sell the iPhone.

Unapproved third-party software and jailbreaking

See also: Jailbreaking for iOS and iPhone Dev Team

The iPhone's operating system is designed to only run software that has an Apple-approved cryptographic signature. This restriction can be overcome by "jailbreaking" the phone, which involves replacing the iPhone's firmware with a slightly modified version that does not enforce the signature check. Doing so may be a circumvention of Apple's technical protection measures. Apple, in a statement to the United States Copyright Office in response to EFF lobbying for a DMCA exception for this kind of hacking, claimed that jailbreaking the iPhone would be copyright infringement due to the necessary modification of system software. However in 2010 Jailbreaking was declared officially legal in the US by the DMCA. Jailbroken iPhones may be susceptible to computer viruses, but few such incidents have been reported.

SIM unlocking

United States

iPhone 3G shown with the SIM tray partially ejected.

Most iPhones were and are still sold with a SIM lock, which restricts the use of the phone to one particular carrier, a common practice with subsidized GSM phones. Unlike most GSM phones however, the phone cannot be officially unlocked by entering a code. The locked/unlocked state is maintained on Apple's servers per IMEI and is set when the iPhone is activated.

While the iPhone was initially sold in the US only on the AT&T network with a SIM lock in place, various hackers have found methods to "unlock" the phone from a specific network. Although AT&T and Verizon are the only authorized iPhone carriers in the United States, unlocked iPhones can be used with other carriers after unlocking. More than a quarter of the original iPhones sold in the United States were not registered with AT&T. Apple speculates that they were likely shipped overseas and unlocked, a lucrative market before the iPhone 3G's worldwide release. iPhones are unlocked by users who wish to use networks other than AT&T or Verizon's.

AT&T has stated that the "iPhone cannot be unlocked, even if you are out of contract". On March 26, 2009, AT&T in the United States began selling the iPhone without a contract, though still SIM-locked to their network. The up-front purchase price of such iPhone units is often twice as expensive as those bundled with contracts. Outside of the United States, policies differ, especially in US territories and insular areas like Guam, where GTA TeleGuam is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, since neither AT&T nor Verizon have a presence in the area.

Other countries

In the United Kingdom, carriers O2, Orange, 3, Vodafone, T-Mobile, as well as MVNO Tesco Mobile sell the device under subsidised contracts, or for use on pay as you go. They are locked to network initially, though are usually able to be unlocked either after a certain period of contract length has passed, or for a small fee. The iPhone 4 in the UK is also currently sold unlocked without a contract for full retail price for use on any network the user chooses, but only when bought directly from Apple (either online or in their physical shops).

Five major carriers in Australia, (Three, Optus, Telstra, Virgin Mobile, and Vodafone), offer legitimate unlocking, now at no cost for all iPhone devices, both current and prior models. The iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4 can also be bought unlocked from a Apple Retail Store, or the Apple Online Store.

Internationally, policies vary, but many carriers sell the iPhone unlocked for full retail price.

See also

• Newton (platform), an early personal digital assistant and the first tablet platform developed by Apple.

External links

• Official website
• Technical specifications (all models)
• Video of Jobs launching the iPhone at Macworld 2007
• Dynamic list of Apple's phone patents