The Evolution of Apple's iPhone

A look at the evolution of Apple's mobile operating system.

iOS 1
Apples first-ever touch-centric mobile operating system was announced on Jan. 9, 2007
when former CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone. The OS was never officially
recognized, but Jobs called it software that runs a mobile version of Apples desktop
OS X. Features included multi-touch gestures, visual voicemail, mobile web browsing on
Safari and a YouTube app. A January 2008 update added a customizable home screen
that let users move apps to dedicated pages on the device and gave iPod Touch users

new apps: Mail, Maps, Weather, Notes and Stocks. The update was free for iPhone
users, but iPod Touch users had to pay $19.99.

iOS 2
After the release of the iPhone SDK on March 6, 2008, Apple officially recognized its
mobile operating system as iPhone OS. iPhone OS 2 came prepackaged with
the iPhone 3G, and offered features like the App Store, Maps with GPS and push email.
The update was free for iPhone users and $9.95 for iPod Touch users (with free iOS 2.x
updates after).

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iOS 3
iPhone OS 3 came with the iPhone 3G S and included new features like voice control;
multimedia messaging; Spotlight search; a landscape keyboard; and (finally) cut, copy
and paste functions. After Apple introduced the iPad in March 2010, iPhone OS
became iOS. iOS 3 was free for iPhone users, but iPod Touch users still had to pay
$9.95 (with free iOS 3.x updates after). When it became available, the iPad had iOS 3.2
pre-installed; as an incentive for iPod Touch users who still hadnt updated to iOS 3, the
price was reduced $4.95.

iOS 4
iOS 4 came preinstalled with the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. Officially marketed as iOS, it
introduced wallpapers, multitasking, folders and FaceTime, and iBooks for iPad. For the
first time with iOS 4, iPod touch users did not have to pay to upgrade. The iPhone 4 also
became Apples first CDMA-capable phone that delivered iOS to Verizon users.

iOS 5
Pre-packaged with the iPhone 4S, a week after the death of Steve Jobs, iOS
5introduced Siri, Notification Center, iMessage, Reminders and Newsstand. iOS
5became notable because it cut the computer cord -- users could activate and set up
their devices wirelessly and out-of-the-box with over-the-air updates. iOS 5 also brought
the introduction of iCloud and Twitter integration.

OS 6
iOS 6 was included with the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, and parted ways with pre-installed
Google Maps and YouTube, which users had to manually download from the App
Store. iOS 6 included Apples own Maps app, introducing turn-by-turn navigation, as well
as Facebook integration, Passbook and LTE support.

iOS 7
After iOS 6 became infamous for its Maps controversy, Apples then-Senior Vice
President of Design (now Chief Design Officer), Jonathan Ive took over redesigning the
iOS after the departure of former Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott
Forstall. iOS 7 trashed its previous skeumorphic graphics and included a design
overhaul with refined typography, new icons, translucency and layering. Prepackaged
with the iPhone 5S, 5C, iPad Air and iPad mini 2, the flat OS included new features like
Control Center, AirDrop for iOS, a revamped Photos app, iTunes Radio and CarPlay.

OS 8
iOS 8 came with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the iPad Air 2. It built off of iOS 7 and
contained new features like Apple Pay, a new Health app, HandOff, QuickType, Family
Sharing, iCloud Drive, third-party keyboard support and (in mid-2015) Apple Music. iOS
8 became the first iOS to have public beta testing available outside of developers before
its initial release.

OS 9
iOS 9 is designed to work with 3D Touch in the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. It also
includes new features such as an updated Notes app to support drawing sketches and
adding images, a revamped Maps app with transit directions in select U.S. cities and a
News app, which replaces Newsstand and displays news from sources such as
CNN, Wired and The New York Times. Passbook will be renamed Wallet and will
support loyalty cards and gift cards. To coincide with the introduction of the iPad Pro, the
iPad family will gain new features like Slide Over and Split View for enhanced
multitasking; Picture in Picture to watch videos while in other apps; and shortcut support
(cut, copy and paste) for wireless keyboards. iOS 9 improves battery time (up to one
hour) and offers a Low Power Mode, a six-digit passcode for added security and
Android migration. To combat devices with low storage, iOS 9 will be significantly
smaller, and apps will automatically delete and then reinstall to accomodate the update.

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Image courtesy Apple

iOS 10
iOS 10 delivers a raft of changes to frequently used apps like Messages, better
integration involving Siri and 3D Touch and more access to Apple apps for third-party
developers. In iOS 10, many Apple apps can now be removed from the Home Screen
just like any third-party app. There's a revamped Widgets screen that's accessed with a
left-to-right swipe from the Home Screen, and Apple has changed the Lock Screen to
give users quicker access to information and data without having to unlock a device.
And the Maps app continues to evolve as Apple works to bring it closer to par with its
Google counterpart. (Credit the work Apple did on the back end to improve database
listings and directions.) Although there aren't big-name "wow" features, the overall
combination of tweaks makes iOS 10 feel more cohesive and useful.

Where are the iPhone, iPad and Mac designed, made and assembled? A
comprehensive breakdown of Apple's product supply chain

In early 2016, there's was a lot of tech-press buzz around US presidential

candidate Donald Trump's eye-catching vow to force Apple to make its computers in the
US. (In fairness it's not just Republicans who go in for this kind of thing, even if other
politicians might adopt a more diplomatic approach. Less than three years ago Apple
was praised by Barack Obama for agreeing to start making more of its Macs
domestically.)
Aside from raising questions regarding Mr Trump's motives and credentials, this also
made a lot of people curious about the actual location of Apple's manufacturing and
assembly plants. How much of an iPad, for example, is actually made in the United
States? And how many of the components within your average Apple devices are
produced under the company's own brand? Who really makes the iPhone? How is the
iPhone made?
Those are just some of the questions we'll be answering in this article, as we explore
the supply chain for a Mac, iPhone or iPad and look at the various places each of these
products is designed, built and assembled - and why. Hopefully you, and Donald Trump,
will find the answers illuminating.

Where are Apple products made: Apple, Foxconn and the supply chain
Before diving into where the origins of individual parts within Apple products, we have to
look at the overarching picture: Apple's supply chain, which has come under some
scrutiny recently from a report by Amnesty International and Afrewatch that outlines
child labour fuelling the manufacturing process of smartphone batteries found in Apple's
products.
The biggest difference Apple has from other manufacturers is that it sources its
materials and components from other manufacturers that operate throughout the globe.
For example, its displays are mainly made in Japan by Japan Display and Sharp, and
some are still made in South Korea by LG Display; whilst the Touch ID sensor found in
its recent iPad and iPhone models are made in Taiwan by TSMC (Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) and Xintec. In fact, its list of suppliers
for 2014-2015 stretches to more than 200 various suppliers located throughout the
world.
This brings up a lot of interesting facts about Apple's supply chain, where it has to
manage a huge number of suppliers and funnel their work into a single device. This is
what makes Apple a fascinating company to research and understand. In order for it to

operate economically, it has to source parts from various different countries and
continents, manufacture and assemble the parts in another, have warehouses located
around the world to supply enough devices for the whole world and finally be able to
distribute it to its customers at a reliable speed.
Whilst thinking about the complex supply chain, it's interesting to work out why and how
parts from around the world come together in perfect harmony to create one of the most
iconic brands of our time.

Where are Apple products made: Which companies make the iPhone - and where?
Let's dive into the individual parts that make up an Apple device. More specifically, let's
look at Apple's iPhone line. Here's a breakdown of the components that go into the
iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6:

Accelerometer: Bosch in Germany. Invensense in the United States.

Audio Chipsets and Codec: Cirrus Logic in the United States (outsourced for
manufacturing).

Baseband processor: Qualcomm in the United States (outsourced for

manufacturing).

Batteries: Samsung in South Korea. Huizhou Desay Battery in China.

Cameras: Sony in Japan. OmniVision in the United States produces the frontfacing FaceTime camera chip but subcontracts TMSC (in Taiwan) for
manufacturing.

Chipsets and Processors: Samsung in South Korea and TSMC in Taiwan.

Alongside their partner GlobalFoundries in the United States.

Controller Chips: PMC Sierra and Broadcom Corp in the United States
(outsourced for manufacturing).

Display: Japan Display and Sharp in Japan. LG Display in South Korea.

DRAM: TSMC in Taiwan. SK Hynix in South Korea.

eCompass: Alps Electric in Japan.

Fingerprint sensor authentication: Authentec makes it in China but outsources it

to Taiwan for manufacturing.

Flash memory: Toshiba in Japan and Samsung in South Korea.

Gyroscope: STMicroelectronics in France and Italy.

Inductor coils (audio): TDK in Japan.

Main Chassis Assembly: Foxconn and Pegatron in China.

Mixed-signal chips (such as NFC): NXP in Netherlands.

Plastic Constructions (for the iPhone 5c): Hi-P and Green Point in Singapore.

Radio Frequency Modules: Win Semiconductors (module manufacturers Avago

and RF Micro Devices) in Taiwan. Avago technologies and TriQuint
Semiconductor in the United States. Qualcomm in the United States for LTE
connectivity.

Screen and Glass (for the display): Corning (Gorilla Glass) in the United
States. GT Advanced Technologies produces the sapphire crystals in the
screens.

Semiconductors: Texas Instruments, Fairchild and Maxim Integrated in the

United States.

Touch ID sensor: TSMC and Xintec in Taiwan.

Touchscreen Controller: Broadcom in the United States (outsourced for

manufacturing).

Transmitter and Amplification Modules: Skyworks and Qorvo in the United

States (outsourced for manufacturing).

As we're able to see, Apple's manufacturing and outsourcing of products is very diverse
and sprawls across numerous countries around the world. This goes without mentioning
a lot of the other suppliers and manufacturers that are within the supply chain of some
of the companies listed above!

It should be noted that the design, development and marketing work, not to mention the
creation of the software, are all done in-house by Apple in the United States. The
company remains a huge employer in its home country.
If you would like to see an infographic on where the various iPhone parts are sourced
from, there are some excellent ones produced by CompareCamp and FinancesOnline.
Where are Apple products made: Where is the iPhone made?
And so we return to the original question: Where is an iPhone (or an iPad, or the
component parts of any Apple device) made?
The answer is: everywhere. Due to the complex supply chain within each of these
companies, the number of countries involved in the manufacturing and even assembly
process of Apple's devices is impossibly diverse.

Where are Apple products made: Made in China

The reason Apple sticks "Made in China" on its devices is because the majority of the
parts tend to be sourced from China, but they are frequently made elsewhere (in
Taiwan, for example). The assembly of Apple's devices is for the most part done in
China - which is why we will continue to see "Made in China" despite a lot of these
companies, including Apple, creating their designs in countries like the United States.
Looking more closely at the Chinese assembly line, it's also made people questionwhy
Apple has chosen to outsource and even assemble its devices outside its domestic
territory and choose China as its primary location. The simple answer is: China allows
greater flexibility and even has the natural resources to cope with high-demand
manufacturing.
Where are Apple products made: How much does an iPhone cost to make?
Finally, we should also look at the cost of manufacturing certain phones (we will quote
the figures in US dollars, in order to avoid any currency fluctuation conversions).
According to research firm IHS, the iPhone 6s Plus (Apple's current flagship phone, at
the time of writing) costs Apple $236 to manufacture (once manufacturing costs are
added), whilst it retails at over three times the price at $749 for the 16GB model. What's
even more interesting to note is the extra storage found in the 64GB model costs Apple

around $17 extra to make, while it charges its customers an extra $100 for the extra
storage space.
In the UK the iPhone 6s Plus 64GB can be found for around 600.
On 4 April 2016, IHS also released the cost edtimate for the iPhone SE, which comes in
at about $160 with manufacturing costs added, whilst the retail price sits at $399 (359
in the UK).
Where are Apple products made: Apple vs Samsung
It's interesting to understand the cost of the manufacturing process, as when compared
to other manufacturers like Samsung, who make a lot of Apple's internal parts and
manufacture a greater percentage of components within their own devices; it costs
Samsung more to build the Galaxy S6 Edge 64GB over the Apple iPhone 6 Plus 64GB
model. The Galaxy S6 Edge 64GB can be found for around 500 on Amazon.

This all goes to show how complex and yet how successful Apple is as a logistical
engine, keeping down costs and managing a vast and complicated supply chain with
links around the globe.
It is known as one of the most talked about brands in the technology space and has an
ever-increasing popularity with investors. Apple is quite simply one of the most
successful companies of our times, and yet it barely manufactures its own products and
still manages to sell them for a higher price, despite often featuring slightly lower
hardware specifications.
Apple can be one of the most challenging places to work.
You're surrounded by the best in your industry, and, given Apple's high standards,
there's always pressure to perform at the top of your game.
Describing it as a stressful place to work may be an understatement.
But despite the long hours of hard work, many Apple employees seem to think the pros
outweigh the cons.
Based on hundreds of reviews on Glassdoor and a few Quora posts written by former
employees, it sounds like Apple treats its employees extremely well.

Here's a look at why people love working at Apple.

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The salaries are pretty good for many positions.

Many employees who reviewed their experience at Apple have cited compensation as
one of the main benefits. An anonymous employee described the "perks and overall
salary" as "great,"while others have at least referred to the pay as "good."
The average software engineer makes about $76,000 per year, according to PayScale,
which updated its statistics as of December 2014. According to Glassdoor, software
engineers at Apple usually make more than $100,000 depending on their level of
experience
The work environment is more mature than what you might find at other tech
companies.
One anonymous Quora user who claims to have worked at Apple for several years writes
that there's an "older demographic" working at Apple. Most people are in their 30s and
40s, and have tons of experience to bring to the workplace, the author writes. There are
no "Nerf guns" or "slackers."
Source: Quora
Employees love the discounts they get on Apple products.
Any iPhone or MacBook Air owner knows how expensive Apple products can be, which
is why Apple employees love their discounts. Several current and former Apple
employees cited discounts as one of their favorite perks when working for Apple.
A former employee that worked in the "creative" department described the discounts as
"amazing," while another referred to both product and stock discounts as "great."

You get to work with really, really smart people.

Steve Jobs was fond of saying he only wanted A-level people on his staff, and plenty of
current and employees seemed to appreciate having the opportunity to be surrounded
by some of the sharpest minds in their industry.
Almost every review on Glassdoor mentions how amazing the company culture is at
Apple. Coworkers and the excellent work environment at Apple are constantly listed in
the "Pros" section of Apple employee reviews. One current employee specifically said
everything at Apple is about teamwork.
And you're likely to make lifelong friends.

Not only do you get to work with really smart people a few former Apple employees
gushed about the welcoming culture at the company. One former employee wrote that
there's "an amazing sense of belonging and community," while another said, "where
ever you go you will gain a family."
Apple holds a "beer bash" in the quad once every few weeks, where it serves free beer
and appetizers for workers. The company gets musical guests to perform too, such as
One Republic, which made a special appearance to celebrate the Mac's 30th anniversary
this past January.
Working at Apple makes it much easier to get a job elsewhere.

Working at Apple is a bit like living in New York. If you can make it there, you can make
it anywhere.
A former software engineer listed the fact that the "brand sounds good to other
employers" as a primary perk, while a current electrical engineer at Apple pointed out
that the company has a "reputed name in the industry for quality products."
Apple makes the commute much easier for its employees.

Multiple employees praised the company's excellent leadership. In fact, Tim Cook has
an astoundingly high 94% approval rating on Glassdoor, showing just how well
respected he is by employees.
Employees love that they aren't micromanaged at the company.

Apple may be a controlling company, but for the most part, employees say they have a
good amount of freedom to do their work.
"There is a lot of independence and little micro managing," a former employee wrote.
Even part-time workers get benefits at Apple.

While some retail workers complained about their salaries, many praised Apple for
providing them with benefits even if they only worked part-time. Several part-time
Apple employees raved about the benefits offered by the company.
You get an education while you work.

Working at Apple may not always be easy, but if you're an engineer or a developer, you
can count on learning something new on the job.
"Apple taught me how to think about code," a former employee says. "It's hard to
describe my thought processes before because Apple drilled in a way of thinking through
problems that I can't go back from. I learned to iterate while ensuring that I think about
every little detail of that iteration beforehand."
There's even an "Apple University" training center on campus to teach employees about
Apple's ideals and design history.
Plus, free apples!

Given the company's name, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Even so,
several current Apple employees in Cupertino were enthused with the fact that the
company supplies free Apples for its workers.

Apple's retail positions are flexible, and there's plenty of room for growth.

Employees seem to love how flexible Apple's retails positions are. One former employee,
who worked at Apple part-time for more than a year, noted that positions aren't
performance-based. Another current employee wrote that there's plenty of room to
move within the company, or to a different Apple retail location.
There is some really good food available on campus (though you'll have to pay for it.)

Apple may not offer as many insane perks as Google and Facebook, but there are still
some. Several employees raved about the great food at Cafe Mac at Apple's main
headquarters in Cupertino.
One employee even described the food as the "best on-site food services you could ever
imagine." Another says, "Apple subsidizes everything but the cost of ingredients so you
can have custom sushi or pizza from scratch for less than $10. Dinners are usually free
for people on iOS or OS X teams."
The chance to be part of a company that is still growing.

Several employees wrote that they felt as if their careers were constantly growing with
the company. One former product manager listed "fast career growth" as a favorite perk,
while a former technical-support adviser was pleased with the "visible progress" he saw
while working at Apple.
Apple employees love the thorough training they get from management.

Starting a new job is always intimidating, especially at a company as large as Apple.

Luckily, the company provides comprehensive training for new recruits that employees
have raved about on Glassdoor.
Dozens of reviews pointed out Apple's onboarding and training process as a perk, and
one reviewer who previously worked at Apple described it as "engaging and positive."

It's a status symbol.

One former employee says: "Unless you're an actual rock star I doubt you've ever had an
experience quite like walking into the Palo Alto Apple Store with an Apple badge. I've
been to $100/entree restaurants that haven't treated me with as much enthusiasm."
Employees feel like their work has a big impact on the world.
The biggest perk of working at Apple, at least based on the number of reviews that
mentioned it, is a feeling that your work really matters and has an impact on the world.
We saw this point made in dozens of reviews from current and former Apple employees
from various departments throughout the company.
One former Apple employee wrote that creating "innovative products" and taking part in
developing new product categories were among the most rewarding things about the
job.
"This is a great opportunity to work with some really fantastic, dedicated people, who
genuinely want to use technology to make the world a better place," another anonymous
current employee wrote.