iPhone

(/afon/ EYE-fohn) is a line of smartphones designed and marketed

by Apple Inc. They run Apple's iOS mobile operating system.
[15]
The first generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007; the most
recent iPhone model is the iPhone 7, which was unveiled at a special
event on September 7, 2016.[16][17]

The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen,

including a virtual keyboard. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and can connect to
cellular networks. An iPhone can shoot video (though this was not a
standard feature until the iPhone 3GS), take photos, play music, send
and receive email, browse the web, send and receive text messages,
follow GPS navigation, record notes, perform mathematical calculations,
and receive visual voicemail.[18] Other functionality, such as video
games, reference works, and social networking, can be enabled by
downloading mobile apps. As of January 2017, Apple's App
Store contained more than 2.2 million applications available for the
iPhone and other iOS devices.[19]

Apple has released ten generations of iPhone models, each accompanied

by one of the ten major releases of the iOS operating system. The
original 1st-generation iPhone was a GSM phone and established design
precedents, such as a button placement that has persisted throughout all
releases and a screen size maintained for the next four iterations.
The iPhone 3G added 3G network support, and was followed by
the 3GS with improved hardware, the 4 with a metal chassis, higher
display resolution and front-facing camera, and the 4S with improved
hardware and the voice assistant Siri. The iPhone 5 featured a taller, 4-
inch display and Apple's newly introduced Lightning connector. In 2013,
Apple released the 5S with improved hardware and a fingerprint reader,
and the lower-cost 5C, a version of the 5 with colored plastic casings
instead of metal. They were followed by the larger iPhone 6, with
models featuring 4.7 and 5.5-inch displays. The iPhone 6S was
introduced the following year, which featured hardware upgrades and
support for pressure-sensitive touch inputs, as well as the SEwhich
featured hardware from the 6S but the smaller form factor of the 5S. In
2016, Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which add water
resistance, improved system and graphics performance, a new rear dual-
camera setup on the Plus model, and new color options, while removing
the 3.5 mm headphone jack found on previous phones.[20]

The iPhone's commercial success has been credited with reshaping the
smartphone industry and helping to make Apple one of the world's most
valuable publicly traded companies by 2011.[21] The original iPhone was
one of the first phones to use a design featuring a slate format with a
touchscreen interface.[22] Almost all modern smartphones have replicated
this style of design.[citation needed]

In the US, the iPhone holds the largest share of the smartphone market.
As of late 2015, the iPhone had a 43.6% market share, followed
by Samsung (27.6%), LG (9.4%), and Motorola (4.8%).[23]