iPhone 10th anniversary
9 January marks the 10th anniversary of iPhone Apple

Apple is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, which was launched at Macworld 2007 by the late Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO, in San Francisco. The first generation iPhone has evolved over the last 10 years and more than one billion units of the device have been sold the world over.

During this period, the company has grown immensely and the device has inspired new products such as the iPad, Apple Watch and numerous apps.

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"iPhone is an essential part of our customers' lives, and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement on 8 January. "iPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started. The best is yet to come," he noted, hinting that more features and changes could be introduced to upcoming iPhone models.

Since its launch, Apple has pushed the boundaries of innovation and in September last year, it launched the seventh generation of the handset dubbed the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

The device has a powerful camera featuring 12 megapixel resolution, optical image stabilisation, an f/1.8 aperture that captures 50% more light and wide colours even in low light condition. The iPhone 7 Plus on the other hand, comes with a dual-lens camera, portrait mode and up to 2X optical zoom.

Other key elements of the iPhone 7 include A10 fusion chip, with processing performance 120 times faster and graphics performance 240 times faster than the original iPhone and also the Retina HD display.

"It is amazing that from the very first iPhone through to today's newest iPhone 7 Plus, it has remained the gold standard by which all other smartphones are judged. For many of us, iPhone has become the most essential device in our lives and we love it," said Philip Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple.

The company also said that iOS 10 is its biggest release ever with innovations including App Store support to Messages, memories feature in Photos, the Home app that allows users to set up, manage and control their home in one place, improved Maps app and Apple Music.