The story behind the iPhone is fascinating and reveals how an idea initially rejected by Steve Jobs became the most successful product of Manzana. Because, from the beginning, the genius of the Cupertino company believed thate “phones sucked”.
According to the book “The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone” by Brian Merchant, cited in applespherethe intriguing details of the tense relationship between Jobs and the development of the iPhone are explored, including the initial opposition of the founder of Apple to the idea of creating a mobile phone.
Jobs expressed his contempt for executive phones on several occasions, going so far as to say that “phones suck.” However, the iPhone became an official project thanks to the insistence of his executive team and the hard work of talented programmers and hardware experts.
As Merchant says, the iPhone started out as an experimental project that Jobs was not involved with, but it quickly became “a leap of faith” on the part of Apple’s visionary founder.
What was Jobs’ rejection based on?
Initially, the rejection of Jobs was based on the belief that Apple was not an expert in reaching end consumers directly. However, this changed when they realized the enormous potential that the first smartphones offered from a social engineering point of view.
Steve Jobs needed to see an intuitive and exciting interface that would convince both inexperienced users and himself that Apple should enter the phone market.
The first iPhone was a feat of engineering, with more than 200 licenses and patents associated with its development. The engineering team, led by Andy Grignon, tried to persuade Jobs that an Apple phone was a great idea.
However, Jobs remained skeptical, prompting him to rethink the idea entirely. It was at that crucial moment when Michael Bellvice president of Apple at the time, sent an email decisive to change the mind of Jobs.
Bell, a trusted man with experience developing mobile operating systems and wireless technologies, convincingly argued in his email the reasons why Apple should venture into creating a phone. One of the key points of his argument centered on the importance of the user interface, which would become a hallmark of the iPhone and would be imitated later.
Steve Jobs finally agreed to Bell’s idea, and the rest is history. The first iPhone became a revolutionary milestone in the mobile phone industry and laid the foundation for Apple’s continued success in the marketplace.