How long was the iphone tested before it came out?

How would we know?

No one even KNEW Apple was going to be releasing a phone until they did. They had some clues, but we had no idea when, where, why, or what it'd be like. So, how would we know how long Apple tested the phone before they released it? We know they started working on about 2 or 3 years before it was released, because Steve said it in the keynote, but we have no clue about the testing.
 
I believe the actual testing was taking a prototype to an apple store and walking it around while everyone went "ooooooooh" without a clue as to what it was. Then they knew it would be a hit and began work on the next revision
 
Anyone that does know will be working for Apple and so at risk of losing their Job if they told you.

We know that Jobs requested his team to look into touch screen devices circa 2003/4, and the result was the iPhone. That's it.
 
And the actual answer is...

As far as carrier testing, ATT didn't even get to see an iPhone until December, 2006, a month before it was first shown in public. Even the engineers at Apple were kept in the dark, working on bits and pieces, and only a few had access to complete units.

The iPhone was field tested in secret for about 2-1/2 months before sales launch. This is a little longer than most phones.

Here is an article about it.

One of the first things the field testers noticed was that the volume was weak. Interestingly, for months after first sales, it was still a complaint. Looks like production was already in full swing and only later models were fixed. (Yes, I know they tried software fixes.)

Apparently due to secrecy, the field testers were mostly trying out reception, and not the features so much, or it would've had perhaps more contact and SMS features right away. It doesn't look like ATT got to give much input before launch.

Another oddity: because of the secrecy, the ATT laboratory tests of the iPhone radio were carried out earlier in 2007 without full devices. That is, ATT only got radio test units, with no other software.

Kevin
(telco contract engineer)
 
i would say it was probably tested from the first legitimate rumors about the iPhone to the first realease date of the EDGE iPhone.
 
kdarling said:
As far as carrier testing, ATT didn't even get to see an iPhone until December, 2006, a month before it was first shown in public. Even the engineers at Apple were kept in the dark, working on bits and pieces, and only a few had access to complete units.

The iPhone was field tested in secret for about 2-1/2 months before sales launch. This is a little longer than most phones.

Here is an article about it.

One of the first things the field testers noticed was that the volume was weak. Interestingly, for months after first sales, it was still a complaint. Looks like production was already in full swing and only later models were fixed. (Yes, I know they tried software fixes.)

Apparently due to secrecy, the field testers were mostly trying out reception, and not the features so much, or it would've had perhaps more contact and SMS features right away. It doesn't look like ATT got to give much input before launch.

Another oddity: because of the secrecy, the ATT laboratory tests of the iPhone radio were carried out earlier in 2007 without full devices. That is, ATT only got radio test units, with no other software.

Kevin
(telco contract engineer)
Click to expand...

It's nice that someone actually decided to try and answer the question rather than waste bandwidth with snide comments.

I would of posted the same thing but you beat me to it- hence why I'm wondering why so many people said there was no way to know. What kdarling posted was pretty well reported.
 
Mikey B said:
I would of posted the same thing but you beat me to it- hence why I'm wondering why so many people said there was no way to know. What kdarling posted was pretty well reported.
Click to expand...

I think a lot more was known by those who followed the phone from its first public introduction (or before) up until its sales launch.

There seem to be a LOT of young, new owners on this forum, who know little about either the iPhone history or other smartphone history.

Ah well, that's why they pay us old guys the big bucks.... to pass on the knowledge.

Regards!
 
I thought they said back in the day that they had been testing and working on it for like two years with the first version they had getting scrapped because the project just wasn't developing the way they wanted it to. Issues with design and software (both developing separately which added to the mess), so they started from scratch again. I thought I read that in one of the computer magazines back in the day. Not to be vague, but the article really had nothing to do with the phone but rather focused on Woz and his thoughts on the history of apple thus far. (possibly "wired" magazine). The phone part was a brief mention in the article as no one really cared about it back then (before all the hype). He talked about it when discussing the companies future direction but I always remembered it once the iphone came out because in hind sight it offered lots of tidbits on the iphone from a development perspective.
 
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