More than ten years ago, Steve Jobs was first releasing the iPod, a revolution in digital mobile music players. Today, the iPod has developed into a far wider range of products from iPhones to iPads, with a technological journey that has come to many bumps in the road but ultimately, has changed the way we play, talk and listen.

The rise of the iPhone

One of the most iconic Apple products to stem from the humble iPod is of course the iPhone – as an extension of the touch screen functions on an iPod Touch, the iPhone changed the way we communicate, from iMessaging to Facetime. While video calling wasn’t anything new back in the late noughties, Facetime pushed the boundaries, giving users high quality, buffer free images and the ability to chat on multiple interfaces such as smart phones and tablets.

From the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007, the product has faced many changes from technological advancements to design. Inspired by the work of designer Dieter Rams, the phones carried the same simplistic circles and lines, and began in monochromatic colours. As time passed, however, new colours and features were added, including a forward facing camera on the iPhone 4, which debatably could have sparked a new contribution to the zeitgeist – the infamous ‘selfie.’

Playing away

As a key player in smart phone technology, the iPhone has revolutionised the way we play on the go, from addictive games like Angry Birds to gambling games like on this Birmingham Casino.  Gone are the days where we would have to wait three minutes for a desktop computer to boot up – we can play games wherever we like, simply by reaching into our pockets and taking out our phones. Undoubtedly, the rise of 4G has also enabled this further, with the new iPhone 5C and 5S taking to this faster internet like a duck to water.

The future

With the launch of the 5S last September, Apple now seems to be releasing new models at an alarming rate, and quite rightly so, given the new specs of IOS 7 that it has to play with. Rumours are already circulating about the iPhone 6, which promises to be bigger, in order to match its competitors the HTC1 and Galaxy 4, and also smarter. Forget fingerprint recognition – retinal scanning is the new trend for iPhones, and it could be coming as soon as next month, so watch this space.