The youth of today may find it hard to believe but there was a time when we didn't have the Apple iPhone in our lives — or any mobile phone for that matter.
Just imagine having to call someone to communicate rather than using WhatsApp, taking photos with an actual camera and watching television on, well, your TV instead of squinting at your phone in the dark. You could even have a conversation with a stranger in the lift instead of burying yourself in those gorgeous pixels.
Life, as many of us know it, changed on January 9, 2007, when Steve Jobs started talking on stage about, every once in a while, introducing a “revolutionary product that changes everything".
This time, it was not just one product, but three: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone … and a breakthrough internet communicator.
After teasing the crowd by repeating the three creations over and over, he exclaimed: “This is one device.”
And there the iPhone was born, along with a new use for fingers which have since been almost glued to the increasingly responsive screens.
Yearly updates have given us bigger screens, sharper cameras and faster loading times, but what comes next? Will Apple, now under the leadership of Tim Cook, reinvent the wheel again?
We found out at its Far Out event on September 7, when the iPhone 14 made its first appearance. Reinvent the wheel? Not quite.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be powered by the A15 bionic chip that was introduced with the iPhone 13 series last year.
All new iPhones also feature an emergency SOS service through satellite connectivity and a crash detection feature. That, however, is about it apart from the usual camera upgrades.
At its March 2022 event, another new phone rolled out - this time the third generation of the iPhone SE. Again, nice update, but nothing massively new.
To relive the journey of the iPhone, scroll through the gallery at the top of the page.
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
more from Janine di Giovanni
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Russia v Scotland, Thursday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo
Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 28
Sector: Financial services
Investment: $9.5m
Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors.