--- title: The iPhone Has a Lesser Known History description: In "The One Device" by Brian Merchant, the author makes the case that Apple's breakthrough product combined many inventions that came before canonical: https://time.com/4819579/iphone-one-device-review/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-15T10:53:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:09:47.566Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Inevitability of the iPhone og:description: Apple's device has more behind it than Steve Jobs' genius og:url: https://time.com/4819579/iphone-one-device-review/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a1382ea3c9f249a/6988c1007cdbac6e11d57b30/gettyimages-606031018.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Iphone 7 Is Presented in Madrid og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Inevitability of the iPhone twitter:description: Apple's device has more behind it than Steve Jobs' genius twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a1382ea3c9f249a/6988c1007cdbac6e11d57b30/gettyimages-606031018.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Inevitability of the iPhone by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 15, 2017 10:53 AM CUT  An iPhone 7 Plus with its new dual camera is displayed at Puerta del Sol Apple Store the day the company launches their Iphone 7 and 7 Plus on September 16, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. An iPhone 7 Plus with its new dual camera is displayed at Puerta del Sol Apple Store the day the company launches their Iphone 7 and 7 Plus on September 16, 2016 in Madrid, Spain.Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 15, 2017 10:53 AM CUT The [iPhone](http://time.com/4806296/apple-iphone-distracted-driving/ "undefined") is commonly referenced as a first-of-its-kind device that revolutionized the way we navigate the world. But in his new book, [_The One Device_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/031654616X/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined"), Brian Merchant argues that Apple’s breakthrough product was less a stroke of genius and more a “container ship of \[pre-existing\] inventions.” By the time the [iPhone](http://time.com/4805181/ios-11-release-date-features/ "undefined") debuted, in 2007, FingerWorks had figured out multitouch keyboards, Nokia’s phones were playing music and running apps, and IBM had birthed and buried its own smartphone, the Simon. So what set the iPhone apart? Steve Jobs’ insistence on intuitive design was a huge factor. So was timing. In 1992, when IBM unveiled the Simon, hardware was bulky and wi-fi was essentially nonexistent. By 2007, that landscape had shifted, paving the way for the iPhone’s success. “The point isn’t that [Apple](http://time.com/4816178/apple-self-driving-car/ "undefined") ripped off the Simon,” Merchant writes. It’s that something like the iPhone was inevitable. 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