Today the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone turns 10.
Steve Jobs, the former chief executive of Apple who died in 2011 of pancreatic cancer, introduced his plans for the iPhone in January, 2007, in a key note address at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, California.
On 29 June the same year, the iPhone was released in the US where thousands of people were lining up outside Apple and AT&T retail stores for days before its launch.
At the time of its release, the iPhone was considered a groundbreaking piece of technology - developed over a 30-month period at an estimated cost of US$150mln.
While the market is now saturated with smartphones from a number of different providers, the iPhone remains one of the most successful products in history with Apple having sold more than one billion of the devices over the past 10 years.
Apple no longer leader of smartphone market
Apple has since been knocked off the top spot in terms of smartphone market share. Samsung is now the leader with 23.8% of smartphone market share, putting Apple at second place with 15.4%, according to the latest data from IDC Research.
In May, the company reported that it sold 50.8 million iPhones in the first three months of 2017, down 1% year-on-year. However, Apple boss Tim Cook said the sales decline was due to customers holding out for the next iPhone.
Like every other year Apple has released a new iPhone, loyal customers may be lining up outside stores once again when the next model is released in September.
The iPhone 8 may also allow Apple to reclaim the throne as the market leader in smartphones if it lives up to expectations.
Apple's market capitalisation to top US$1trn on iPhone 8 release
Many analysts expect the group's market capitalisation to top US$1trn on the back of the 10th anniversary iPhone.
Drexel Hamilton was the first to predict Apple’s market capitalisation could reach US$1trn when it raised its target price to US$202 a share from US$185 in May. The analyst’s remarks saw Apple became the first company to surpass a market capitalisation of US$800bn.
RBC Capital has also predicted Apple’s market value could top US$1trn, saying the group’s revenue and margins have the potential to grow when average selling prices are boosted by the launch of the premium-priced iPhone 8.
The pricier iPhones include a 128 gigabyte model for at US$999 and a 256 gigabyte model for US$1,099.
iPhone 8 rumours
Rumours suggest the iPhone 8 will feature a curved edge-to-edge display that removes the physical home button. The home button and Touch ID will reportedly be embedded in the display or located on the back of the phone.
The handset is said to be one the first in Apple’s range to include wireless change, according to one of the company’s suppliers.
Taiwanese manufacturing company Wistron said the device will also have more advanced waterproofing, which the iPhone 7 does not feature.
The iPhone 8 display is expected to transition to an elongated 18.5:9 aspect ratio like Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and LG’s G6.
The handset is also said to have a flexible plastic OLED display panel, rather than LCD, making it a thinner iPhone that consumes less power.
For the body of the phone, Apple is rumoured to be re-adopting glass as used for the iPhone 4.
Other predictions for the iPhone 8 include: a dual lens camera; upgraded storage of between 64G and 3GB of RAM; new biometric security featuring iris scanning and/or facial recognition; and a higher quality earpiece for louder, clearer audio.
Possible delays to iPhone 8 launch
Speculation has been circulating in recent months that the release of the iPhone 8 could be delayed due to key component shortages and technical challenges.
Analysts at KGI, RBC Capital and Cowen and Cowen have said they expect a delay of between one and two months.
An analyst from Deutsche Bank in April said that the iPhone was unlikely to be released this year at all, citing various media reports about manufacturing issues.
According to Digitimes, the delays are due to issues with the supply of OLED panels and yiled rates at assembly plants.
However, Morgan Stanley said last month that employees at its Greater China Technology Research facility had not yet seen any indication of supply chain delays.