The iPhone is an Internet and multimedia enabled smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The iPhone functions as a camera phone (also including text messaging and visual voicemail), a portable media player (equivalent to a video iPod), and an Internet client (with email, web browsing, and Wi-Fi connectivity) — using the phone's multi-touch screen to render a virtual keyboard in lieu of a physical keyboard.

The first-generation phone (known as the Original) was quad-band GSM with EDGE; the second generation phone (known as 3G) added UMTS with 3.6 Mbps HSDPA;[17] the third generation adds support for 7.2 Mbps HSDPA downloading but remains limited to 384 Kbps uploading as Apple had not implemented the HSPA protocol.[18]

Apple announced the iPhone on January 9, 2007,[19] after months of rumors and speculation.[20] The original iPhone was introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007 before being marketed worldwide. Time magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007.[21] Released July 11, 2008, the iPhone 3G supports faster 3G data speeds and assisted GPS.[17] On March 17, 2009, Apple announced version 3.0 of the iPhone OS operating system for the iPhone (and iPod Touch), released on June 17, 2009.[22] The iPhone 3GS was announced on June 8, 2009, and has improved performance, a camera with more megapixels and video capability, and voice control.[23] It was released in the U.S., Canada and 6 European countries on June 19, 2009,[3] in Australia and Japan on June 26,[24] and saw international release in July and August, 2009.

Development of the iPhone began with Apple CEO Steve Jobs' direction that Apple engineers investigate touchscreens.[25] Apple created the device during a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with AT&T Mobility—Cingular Wireless at the time—at an estimated development cost of US$150 million over thirty months. Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola. Instead, Cingular gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house.[26][27]

Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007 in a keynote address. Apple was required to file for operating permits with the FCC, but since such filings are made available to the public, the announcement came months before the iPhone had received approval. The iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, at 6:00 pm local time, while hundreds of customers lined up outside the stores nationwide.[1][28] The original iPhone was made available in the UK, France, and Germany in November 2007, and Ireland and Austria in the spring of 2008.

On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the original six.[29] Apple has since released the iPhone 3G in upwards of eighty countries and territories.[30] Apple announced the iPhone 3GS on June 8, 2009, along with plans to release it later in June, July, and August, starting with the U.S., Canada and major European countries on June 19.[3] Many would-be users have objected to the iPhone's cost,[31] and 40% of users have household incomes over 100,000 USD.[32] In an attempt to gain a wider market, Apple has retained the 8 GB iPhone 3G at a lower price point. This is the latest of several price reductions over the years; it now sells for one-sixth of the price of the original 8 GB iPhone when it first became available. In the U.S., it now costs $99, down from $599, although it includes a two-year contract and a SIM lock.

Apple sold 6.1 million original iPhone units over five quarters.[33] The company sold 3.8 million iPhone 3G units in the second quarter of fiscal 2009, ending March 2009, totaling 21.4 million iPhones sold to date.[4] Sales in Q4 2008 surpassed temporarily those of RIM's BlackBerry sales of 5.2 million units, which made Apple briefly the third largest mobile phone manufacturer by revenue, after Nokia and Samsung.[34] Approximately 6.4 million iPhones are active in the U.S. alone.[32] While iPhone sales constitute a significant portion of Apple's revenue, some of this income is deferred.[4]

Regardless, the iPhone has garnered positive reviews from critics like David Pogue[35] and Walter Mossberg.[36][37] The iPhone attracts users of all ages.[32]