The iPhone and the disruption of an industry... or several

Six years ago, when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, the industry responded largely by mocking it. Companies such as Blackberry, Nokia, Palm, and Microsoft said it was impossible to sell such an expensive phone. Who does not remember Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, laughing loudly and saying that the iPhone was a joke? What all those companies failed to see was that the industry changed the day the iPhone was unveiled—not because the companies changed their mindset, but because consumers did.

Six years later, things have changed greatly. Now every smartphone is a copy of the paradigm introduced by the iPhone: an all-screen rectangle with no keyboard. The market for mobile device applications has boomed, and a new category of device derived from smartphones has even emerged: tablets.

Six years later, what happened to the companies that mocked the iPhone?

Blackberry has just announced a loss of more than one billion dollars in its latest quarter and the dismissal of 4,500 workers. Nokia is no longer relevant and has been acquired by Microsoft. Microsoft, unable to get its smartphone platform off the ground, has bought Nokia to produce its own hardware. Palm—well, we all know it did not end well for what was once one of the most innovative companies. Palm was bought by HP and began to disappear slowly. And what about the other companies? Remember Sony-Ericsson? What happened to HTC? All these companies have begun to fade into oblivion.

Today there are only three major players in the industry: Apple, and the Google-Samsung duo, which produce the Android operating system and phones for that system, respectively. Google depends on Samsung because it is the world's largest seller of Android smartphones, and Samsung depends on Google because Google develops the operating system for its devices. Although this dependency is not formalized in contracts or agreements, it is very real and, to some extent, holds both companies back. On whom does Apple depend? Apple.

Six years later, it is interesting to analyze how things unfolded. It is almost unbelievable that mobile phone manufacturers allowed another company from another industry, such as Apple, to come along and eat their lunch. Back in 2007, one remark echoed often among those companies: “How can Apple, a company that makes computers, come and tell us how to make phones?” What they failed to see was that the iPhone is not a phone; it is a pocket computer that, among its many functions, can make phone calls.

In 2007, Apple did not unveil a phone; it unveiled a new kind of computer, a small rectangle that fits in the palm of your hand and has a constant connection to everything. The idea was not new, but Apple brought it to life and made it accessible and fun. It was not a computer for nerds; it was a computer for the rest of the world. It is incredible how many people use the iPhone as their primary computer. I even know people who cannot use an ordinary computer to do anything, but are masters when using the iPhone.

The entire focus is now on mobile technology. For people today, a computer is not a plastic box that stays on the office desk, but something they carry in their pocket all the time. And now people want a computer in their glasses and their watches. There is a new need to remain connected at all times. Think for a moment about the dramatic change in the evolution of technology and society if everyone carries a computer that is connected to the network all the time; the amount of information this generates overwhelms us.

Many industries have changed and even refocused: advertising, entertainment, e-commerce, and geolocation. Even sportswear and sports-accessory brands have radically changed their product offerings because people now go running, cycling, or to the gym with a computer.

It is true that Apple cannot be credited with this entire series of changes and disruptions. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the company lit a spark six years ago. A spark is small and disappears in an instant, but it can cause an explosion. That is exactly what the iPhone was.