The month of July 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007. Look at what has happened, in terms of smartphone shipments, since then. Samsung would claim much of the credit for growth, after the iPhone reshaped the “phone” business, as can Android.
The overall importance of the iPhone launch, however, goes far beyond the choice of devices people make. Mobile internet access has driven revenue growth for mobile operators in developed nations, even if new subscribers and voice have continued to drive revenue in developing nations.
Over the last decade, we have seen the rise of what some call the app economy or Over the last decade, we have seen the rise of what some call the app economy, which did not exist in 2007.
That is a bit of a misnomer, but the point is that whole businesses such as Uber are directly enabled by the widespread use of smartphones and faster mobile internet access. , which did not exist in 2007. That is a bit of a misnomer, but the point is that whole businesses such as Uber are directly enabled by the widespread use of smartphones and faster mobile internet access.
Just how much some businesses will be “mobile only” or “mobile first” is a good question. Some might argue that is not presently true, and might never be true, for some activities humans conduct on devices using screens.
Similar questions might be raised about the eventual use cases for internet of things apps (some might be useful only when mobile (connected car), others might be stationary (industrial sensors, light posts, parking spaces), others will be ambient (health and fitness monitors).
The point is that although most human activities have been reshaped by the internet, only some are directly dependent on the use of smartphones and mobility.
To be sure, most shopping activities have been reshaped by people using the internet. And as the advertising business has likewise been refashioned, now mobile-based usage is producing additional changes. But Uber and other ride-sharing services would not have been possible without widespread smartphone use and faster mobile internet.
Some of you might never have owned or used a feature phone. But some of us can remember the moment we realized even our “crackberries” were no longer our own choices: it was the moment the “web” became more important than access to email. That was the moment when the browsing experience on a BlackBerry became so obviously painful that the advantages of email handling could not outweigh a more-pleasant web experience.
All that, and eventually more, were enabled, one could well argue, a decade ago when Apple launched the iPhone.
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