Apple’s iPhone’s Rough Launch 10 Years Ago Compared to Now
When I look back at Apple’s many product events, the iPhone 6 event that comes to mind is the one ten years ago. It was a live, two-hour event that gave us a cornucopia of new products that changed our world. But so much drama came out of that event and the days that followed.
And we may never experience anything like this again.
On September 9, 2014, we were introduced to the iPhone 6 — the first phone to come in a Plus size — and a phone that would later make headlines about “Bendgate.” Ten years later, no iPhone has ever been thinner, but next year we may see the thinnest iPhone ever.
At that same event, CEO Tim Cook introduced the Apple Watch to the world, with a vision of it as a high-end, luxury jewelry heirloom worth tens of thousands of dollars. A decade later, the luxury models are outdated, and fashionistas may be ditching their expensive bands. The redesigned 10th edition of that Watch, rumored to be unveiled in a few weeks, may not be compatible with older bands.
Just because something is free doesn’t mean people want it.
But most Apple users remember something else about this event. It was the day Apple put a U2 album on everyone’s iPhone. The band performed live for the crowd, and then Bono and Cook stepped onstage to announce that everyone had the album Songs of Innocence on their devices at that moment.
And then no one could figure out how to remove Songs of Innocence from their devices. (Apparently you couldn’t remove it via iCloud.) Bono apologized (twice), and Apple had to come up with a solution to the situation.
In this week’s episode of One more thingwhich you can watch above, I delve into these and other awkward moments from the launch a decade ago. In the days following this event, Apple also botched an iOS 8 update and had to recall the software due to major bugs in cellular connectivity. This event also marked the launch of Apple Pay; numerous follow-up stories were covered why retailers didn’t want to participate with Apple’s new mobile payments system. Apple’s promise to replace your wallet hasn’t quite come true a decade later, but it has improved.
As we approach the launch of the iPhone 16 and the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, it’s crazy to think about how much has changed, and how much feels the same. And despite all the missteps that occurred in the days surrounding that event, I still long for the days when Apple had the audacity to take so many risks and host a live show (with a musical act, no less). I’m not sure we’ll ever see a live event like this again, but I hope so.
