The 15th anniversary of the release of the original iPhone Take stock of 15 features that the original generation did not have

This Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of Steve Jobs introducing the original iPhone at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. While the device revolutionized the smartphone industry, it's easy to forget how much the iPhone has improved since then. To celebrate the moment, tech media outlet MacRumors listed 15 features that the original iPhone didn't have when it was first released.

● App Store

The original iPhone came pre-installed with apps like phones, weather, notes, calendars, photos, and calculators, but there was no official way to install native third-party apps until the App Store launched in July 2008. Developers are able to offer web-based applications, but this is an unqualified experience.

● Copy and paste

It may seem hard to believe, but the ability to copy and paste text wasn't added to the iPhone until 2009.

● Front camera

While selfies are now ubiquitous, the original iPhone didn't have a front-facing camera. In fact, there was no front-facing camera until the iPhone 4 introduced the new FaceTime video calling feature in 2010.

● Video recording

The original iPhone could only take photos, and the 2009 iPhone 3GS introduced video recording.

● Flashlight

Because the original iPhone didn't have an LED flash, it didn't have a built-in flashlight. When the app store launched, some flashlight apps were released, displaying a white screen at maximum brightness to mimic a flashlight.

● Multimedia Messaging (MMS)

The original iPhone supported sending text messages via text message, but did not have the ability to send photos. In 2009, iPhone OS 3.0 introduced mmS, but only for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

● Gps

Although the original iPhone came pre-installed with the Google Maps app, it didn't have navigation because the device didn't have a GPS system. Apple introduced a built-in GPS in the 2008 iPhone 3G.

● Home screen wallpapers

It wasn't until iOS 4 was released in 2010 that it was possible to set custom home screen wallpapers on the iPhone, and the software update didn't support the original iPhone.

● Verizon support

AT&T was the only iPhone carrier in the United States until Verizon began supporting the device in 2011.

● Siri

Apple's voice digital assistant was launched with the iPhone 4S in 2011.

● Touch ID 或 Face ID

While both modern iPhones and iPads are equipped with biometric authentication systems like Face ID or Touch ID, the original iPhones were only protected with a four-digit passcode. Touch ID went on sale with the iPhone 5s in 2013, while Face ID debuted on the iPhone X in 2017.

● Lightning connectors

Like many previous iPods, the original iPhone came with a 30-pin base connector. With the release of the iPhone 5 in 2012, Apple switched to a smaller lightning connector.

● Retina display

Launched on the iPhone 4 in 2010, the Retina display was four times the pixels of the original iPhone, the highest resolution display in smartphones at the time.

● Wireless charging

The first iPhones to support wireless charging were the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X released in 2017.

● Water resistance

Water is not friendly to the original iPhone, but the latest models are IP68 waterproof.