iPhone at 10: how it changed everything

Alex Hern bought the first iPhone a decade ago. As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, he looks back on how it changed the world - and his life

Ten years ago today, the first iPhone hit stores in the US. On paper, the device was nothing special: it lacked the 3G connectivity which was becoming standard across much of the world, its battery struggled to last a day, and its camera resolution was just two megapixels. It also came with an eye-watering price tag of $499, and a mandatory two-year contract with AT&T. That was for the smallest version, with 4GB of storage.

But in person, it wasn't the iPhone that looked behind the times. It was everything else. Looking back now, and the sea change is obvious: the first iPhone, a 10-year-old device, looks like something that could reasonably be found in people's pockets today, while its competition look like historical curiosities.