Ask anyone "when was iPhone launched" and they’ll probably give you the wrong date. Seriously. Most people remember Steve Jobs standing on that stage in his iconic black turtleneck, sliding a finger across a screen to "unlock" the future. It’s a vivid memory. But that legendary keynote wasn't the launch.
The first iPhone was actually announced on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld Convention in San Francisco.
But it didn't hit the shelves that day. Not even close. If you wanted to actually hold one, you had to wait nearly six months. The official retail launch happened on June 29, 2007. Thousands of people camped out in front of Apple and AT&T stores. It was chaotic. It was also the start of a massive shift in how we live our lives.
The Gap Between the Hype and the Handheld
It’s kinda wild to think about now, but Apple basically bet the company on a device that wasn't even fully finished when Jobs showed it off.
During the January announcement, the demo units were notoriously buggy. Engineers were terrified the thing would crash mid-presentation. They had to follow a "golden path"—a very specific order of clicking icons—so the memory wouldn't overflow and kill the phone.
Honestly, the June 29th launch was the real moment of truth.
When the doors opened at 6:00 PM local time, the world finally saw what $499 (for 4GB) or $599 (for 8GB) actually bought you. By the way, those prices required a two-year contract with Cingular, which we now know as AT&T. People paid it. Gladly.
Key Dates You Should Know
- January 9, 2007: The world sees the iPhone for the first time.
- June 29, 2007: The official US release date.
- November 9, 2007: Launch in Germany and the UK.
- February 5, 2008: Apple drops a "massive" 16GB model.
- July 11, 2008: The iPhone 3G launches, bringing the App Store to life.
Why the 2007 Launch Almost Didn't Happen
The backstory is a mess of secret projects and internal drama. It was called "Project Purple."
Apple’s team worked in a locked-down floor called the "Purple Dorm." They were essentially living there. Scott Forstall, who led the software side, once mentioned that Jobs actually started the project because he hated a specific Microsoft executive who kept bragging about how tablet PCs and styluses were going to rule the world. Jobs wanted to prove him wrong.
He did.
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The iPhone launched with a 3.5-inch screen. That felt huge then. Now? It looks like a toy. It had a 2-megapixel camera. No video recording. No copy-and-paste. No front-facing camera for selfies. And definitely no App Store—you were stuck with the apps Apple gave you, like Weather and Calculator.
Critics like Steve Ballmer (then CEO of Microsoft) laughed at it. He famously said there was "no chance" the iPhone would get any significant market share because it lacked a keyboard.
Oops.
What Really Happened With the iPhone Launch Sales
Apple didn't just "succeed"—they steamrolled the competition. By the end of 2007, they had sold 1.39 million units. That might sound small compared to the millions they sell in a single weekend now, but back then, it was a seismic shift.
It wasn't just about the phone. It was about the internet.
Before the iPhone launched, "mobile web" was basically a list of text links on a tiny screen. The iPhone gave us the actual internet. Safari was a "desktop-class" browser. That changed everything. Suddenly, you weren't just checking email; you were browsing the world.
The Evolution Since That First Friday in June
Looking back from 2026, the trajectory is insane. We went from a 2G "edge" network that was painfully slow to 5G speeds that let us stream 4K video while walking the dog.
| Model | Launch Year | Major Change |
|---|---|---|
| Original iPhone | 2007 | Multi-touch and the "pinch" |
| iPhone 3G | 2008 | The App Store (The real game changer) |
| iPhone 4 | 2010 | Retina Display & FaceTime |
| iPhone 5S | 2013 | Touch ID |
| iPhone X | 2017 | Face ID and No Home Button |
| iPhone 15 Pro | 2023 | USB-C and Titanium |
| iPhone 17 Series | 2025 | The "Air" model and 2nm chips |
Each launch has followed a similar pattern since the iPhone 5: a September announcement followed by a release about ten days later. The "June launch" era died pretty quickly as Apple realized the holiday shopping season was a much better target.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Original Features
You probably remember the first iPhone as being perfect. It wasn't.
It didn't have GPS. If you wanted to know where you were, it used cell tower triangulation, which was... okay-ish. It didn't support 3G, which was already becoming a standard. It was slow.
But the "magic" was the software. Scrolling felt like it had weight. When you hit the bottom of a list, it didn't just stop; it bounced. These tiny "user experience" (UX) details are why people stood in line for days.
Moving Forward With Your Tech
If you’re looking to buy an iPhone today or just wanted to settle a bet about "when was iPhone launched," remember that the hardware is only half the story.
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To get the most out of your current device, check your battery health in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. If you’re still rocking a model older than the iPhone 13, you’re missing out on significant neural engine improvements that handle modern AI tasks.
If you are planning to buy a used "Original iPhone" for your collection, be careful. Most of them are being sold as "refurbished" with non-original parts. A true, factory-sealed 2007 iPhone has recently sold at auctions for over $100,000. For the rest of us, keeping our current software updated to the latest iOS is the best way to keep that 2007 magic alive.