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Research dossier · General Reference

IPhone

Line of smartphones by Apple

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 17, 2026
Entity authoritySource title only
Source-derived summary

The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at Macworld 2007, and first launched in June 2007. Since then, Apple has annually released new iPhone models and iOS versions; the current lineup consists of the iPhone 17, the lower-end iPhone 17e, the lighter and thinner iPhone Air, the higher-end iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone Duo. As of July 2025, more than 3 billion iPhones have been sold. Apple has been the largest vendor of mobile phones since 2023.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “IPhone” as line of smartphones by Apple. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2007, 2025, 2023—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where IPhone, Line and smartphones can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as line of smartphones by Apple. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The first chronological checks are 2007, 2025 and 2023.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “IPhone”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow IPhone primary sources, IPhone archive and IPhone research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “IPhone”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “IPhone” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.