16 Sep 2017

The secret history of the iPhone

From This Way Up, 12:50 pm on 16 September 2017
iPhone

Photo: Public domain

With a decade of carefully staged and choreographed events, Apple has turned the product launch into a major part of its branding strategy, creating demand for its products before they even hit the streets.

Each sleeker, slimmer, and pricier new device does pretty much the same thing as the previous version – just slightly faster, with a few more functions and perhaps in a different colour.

Who wasn't glued to all the coverage this week surrounding the launch of the new iPhone X, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and of course the Apple Watch Series 3 and the Apple TV 4k?

Tech journalist Brian Merchant reflects on the first decade of the iPhone – how it's not only changed our lives, but revolutionised the way digital devices are marketed and sold – in his book The One Device.