In the year 2007, the iPhone was introduced to the market as one of the best touchscreen-based phones. This device brought a revelation in the telecom industry. It was a first intuitive device that offered multiple functionalities in a phone. Soon after other companies followed iPhone design and made various other Smartphones.
On the surface, both the iPhone and other Smartphones have many design similarities. Both of these devices offer app-based functionality. For this reason, many people think that both of these devices are the same. However, they are completely different from the inside.
iPhone vs Smartphone
The main difference between iPhone and Smartphone is that the iPhone is a class of mobile phones which are exclusively designed and marketed by Apple Incorporation; while the Smartphone is a type of mobile phones which are produced by various phone manufacturers and offer phone, internet, software, and multimedia functionalities through a screen touch-based interface.
Comparison Table Between iPhone and Smartphone (in Tabular Form)
| Parameters of Comparison | iPhone | Smartphone |
|---|---|---|
| What is it | The iPhone is a class of mobile phones which are exclusively designed and marketed by Apple Incorporation. | The Smartphone is a type of mobile phones which are produced by various phone manufacturers and offer phone, internet, software, and multimedia functionalities through a screen touch-based interface. |
| Producer | Apple Incorporation | Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, etc. |
| Operating system | iOS | Android |
| User | 728 Million | 2.7 Billion |
| App | 1.85 Million | 2.2 Million |
| Price | Expensive | Available at different price points. |
What is iPhone?
The iPhone is a class of mobile phones which are exclusively designed and marketed by Apple Incorporation. All iPhones use a touchscreen-based interface. The intuitive screen touch interface has replaced the functionality of buttons. It offers the user an immersive experience during phone usage. Renowned Apple CEO Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone in the year 2007.
All iPhones use Apple’s proprietary iOS mobile operating system. As a company, Apple does not permit other phone manufacturer usage permission of this operating system. For this reason, it is exclusively limited to Apple devices like, iPad, iPhone, Macbook, and Apple computers. Even though Apple incorporation designs and markets the phones, but it does not manufacture the iPhone. Apple contracted Foxconn and Pegatron for iPhone manufacturing.
iPhone offers its various functionality through various apps. For its devices like the iPhone and iPod, Apple has its dedicated Apple App store. According to an estimate, it is the second-largest app store in the world. Currently, it offers more than 1.85 million apps for the iPhone, iPod, MacBook, and other Apple devices.
Compared to other phones the iPhone is a little bit more expensive. The primary reason behind this price point is Apple always uses the latest technology in the iPhone. They also incorporate various security measures to ensure a secure privacy standard for the users. Currently, there are over 728 million people use iPhone and it is considered a premium brand in the phone market.
What is Smartphone?
The Smartphone is a type of mobile phones which are produced by various phone manufacturers and offer phone, internet, software, and multimedia functionalities through a screen touch-based interface. Currently, the largest Smartphone producers of this world are Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, etc.
Most Smartphones in the world currently use the Android operating system. It is an operating system based on Linux and other open-source software. This operating system is exclusively designed for touch interface based devices. Google and Open Handset Alliance is the primary developer of this operating system. In the year 2019 Google had announced that Android is the most installed operating system in the world with 2.5 billion device installations.
Smartphones offer their functionality through various apps. Some of the basic apps come with the phone as bundled, but a user can download various apps from the Google play store. According to an estimate, there are 2.2 million apps are available for Smartphone users. Another benefit of the Smartphone is storage expandability. A user can plug-in a MicroSD card to increase the memory space of any Smartphone.
Compared to the iPhone, the price of most Smartphones is much lower. The prime reason behind this parity of price is most Smartphones incorporate cheaper technology in their phone and mass produces them. According to an estimate, there are over 2.7 billion people in the world use Smartphones.
Conclusion
Apple was the first company to introduce iPhone like revolutionary product in the cell phone market. After this revelation, various other companies also introduce their products as smartphones. However, the iPhone is quite a different device from other smartphones.
It offers much fewer device choices for the users. On the other hand, intuitive user experience and simplified eco-system with other Apple devices make it a big hit among regular users. For this reason, many users pay extra to obtain the iPhone and other Apple devices.
On the other hand, most Smartphones are available at an affordable price point with a huge variety. For this reason, they are very popular in developed countries like India and China.
References
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/2371574.2371577?casa_token=_lZkZxZTpGQAAAAA:EhGwq_oUsM4mOJIUAwteR4B2_UrpjNoDDziGAZgHJFbvw2zMjbon-Trs1PRSlvTFRzFXKfWp11V6p5s
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.7227/IJEEE.48.3.6