By 2010, the iPhone era was in full swing. Smartphones were still a relatively new concept—after all, the iPhone had only just introduced copy and paste!—but it was already evident that these sleek slabs of glass were set to revolutionize nearly every aspect of our lives. Apple was also following an annual launch schedule, so excitement was brewing for the next iPhone. Then, in a twist of fate, an Apple employee left a prototype in a bar. Gizmodo snagged it, tore it apart, and spilled the details, effectively breaking the internet. Thus began the saga of the iPhone 4 long before its official launch.
And that was just the beginning of the drama! In this episode of Version History, we dive into the entire story of the iPhone 4, from its leak to its launch to the post-launch Antennagate scandal, which was so intense that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had to hold a press conference to address the backlash. David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and longtime tech journalist Walt Mossberg join forces to recount the details, sharing everything from Walt’s extensive conversations with Jobs to Nilay’s unexpected (and sometimes lesser-known) moments as the story unfolded.
There’s plenty of debate over whether the iPhone 4 was the best iPhone ever (and you can bet we engage in that debate), but there’s no denying it was the most dramatic. It was also possibly the most influential: the iPhone 4 introduced Apple’s custom chips to its smartphone lineup, marked the first departure from AT&T’s network, and became the defining silhouette of smartphones for years to come.
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