Steve Jobs Once Tossed the Original iPhone Across a Room to Impress Journalists

[MacRumors]

Tuesday marks 10 years since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs passed away, and those who met him have begun to share stories about his life.

CNET's Roger Cheng today recounted his memory of Jobs visiting The Wall Street Journal's headquarters in New York to offer him and a small group of other reporters an early look at a prototype iPhone, shortly after the device was unveiled in 2007.

Cheng revealed that when one reporter asked about the iPhone's durability, Jobs reacted by tossing the prototype he was holding into the air toward the center of the room, resulting in a small gasp followed by immediate silence as the device hit the carpeted floor. Cheng said the iPhone survived unscathed, adding that the move was the kind of calculated risk that Jobs was known to take as a showman.

"The memory underscores the kind of lengths Jobs went to in order to make an impression," wrote Cheng. "Imagine how disastrous it would've been if that iPhone had broken or shut down in front of so many journalists."

Jobs famously introduced the original iPhone as if it were three separate products: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device. The crowd at Macworld San Francisco erupted with cheerful applause upon realizing that Jobs was referring to a single device.

Jobs passed away October 5, 2011 at the age of 56. Apple maintains a Remembering Steve page on its website with messages from people all over the world.

Article Link: Steve Jobs Once Tossed the Original iPhone Across a Room to Impress Journalists

 

[edolecki]

I basically owe my career to this man and his company. I won’t lie, I cried that entire evening when I heard the news. Rest easy Steve.

 

[beerseagulls]

Tim Cook will now throw the iPhone 13 Pro Max(naked, no case) across the conference and a random Apple employee will catch it.

 

[Logic368]

Having a computer with a gps in your pocket and 24/7 connectivity to the internet is the infrastructure that has enabled Uber and Lime Scooters etc…

 

[WaffleBoi_15]

“Original iPhone”

uses a pic of the iPhone 4

 

[Sciomar]

Love him or hate him, he was a true visionary whose influence spanned further than just tech. A lot of companies wouldn't be what they are today (or even exist) without this man.

 

[krspkbl]

it's insane just how important the iphone was. if you had to pick a single product that changed human lives (in the last couple decades) it's the iphone. i don't want to sound like an insane apple fanboy but seriously... where would the world be if smartphones didn't become popular and apps didn't exist in their current form.

i'd like to see that alternative timeline just out of curiosity. i know there were "smartphones" before iPhone but there just weren't the same. iPhone really kicked it off. that thing blew my mind when it came out. an ipod that could make calls and go on the internet? i remember going into an apple store after school and calling my dad "i'm using an iphone!" lol

 

[abowlby]

Golly does time fly. Those old Jobs keynotes were like major sporting events for us nerds. If you watch the OG iPhone announcement you can see someone down front literally stand up and fist pump when Jobs says “these are not 3 separate products…”

Heres to the crazy ones.

Edit: Someone pointed out in the comments that the fist pump occurs when Steve mentions the "phone" component specifically, which is correct. My memory needs an upgrade

 

[ian87w]

The original iPhone was fully aluminum/plastic, and I think the prototype used plastic screen (the change to glass, now known as gorilla glass, was a last minute change when Jobs was annoyed how his iPhone screen got scratches from his keys). Obviously it would survive.

The current iPhone has glass front and back. As we all know, glass is glass. Also, the added weight will create more force when dropped, vs the much lighter original iPhone. (original iPhone weighs just 135gm).

 

[delnerdo]

I miss my Treo

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

That’s the leadership Apple needs!

We miss you, Steve!

 

[Joe Rossignol]

“Original iPhone”

uses a pic of the iPhone 4

Does it really matter?

 

[abowlby]

The original iPhone was fully aluminum/plastic, and I think the prototype used plastic screen (the change to glass, now known as gorilla glass, was a last minute change when Jobs was annoyed how his iPhone screen got scratches from his keys). Obviously it would survive.

The current iPhone has glass front and back. As we all know, glass is glass. Also, the added weight will create more force when dropped, vs the much lighter original iPhone. (original iPhone weighs just 135gm).

I believe the Ceramic Shield hype. I dropped my 12 Pro Max face down on the supermarket floor on Saturday morning and there isn’t even so much as a scuff. It’s a really well built device.

 

[cmaier]

That’s the leadership Apple needs!

Why?

 

[Analog Kid]

"Imagine how disastrous it would've been if that iPhone had broken or shut down in front of so many journalists."

It would be almost as bad as throwing a steel ball at the "armor glass" window of your fancy new pickup truck and having it shatter. Twice.

 

[_Spinn_]

The introduction of the iPhone completely changed the computing/tech industry forever.

 

[jamesnajera]

Having a computer with a gps in your pocket and 24/7 connectivity to the internet is the infrastructure that has enabled Uber and Lime Scooters etc…

And 1984

 

[cmaier]

It would be almost as bad as throwing a steel ball at the "armor glass" window of your fancy new pickup truck and having it shatter. Twice.

well, to be fair, after that tesla hasn’t sold even one truck

 

[abowlby]

Why?

I was wondering the same thing. I feel like people underestimate how great Tim Apple has done as a CEO. Sure he doesn’t have the flair for theater like SJ did (who does) but his work as logistics head and then/now CEO have resulted in a Herculean bedrock from which the next generation of leaders in the company can confidently operate.

 

[avz]

I have never met Steve but it is easy to see why he is such an inspiration. I don't think many(if any) can stand up to a high profile shareholders for what they believe in. Rest in peace.

 

[Analog Kid]

it's insane just how important the iphone was. if you had to pick a single product that changed human lives (in the last couple decades) it's the iphone. i don't want to sound like an insane apple fanboy but seriously... where would the world be if smartphones didn't become popular and apps didn't exist in their current form.

i'd like to see that alternative timeline just out of curiosity. i know there were "smartphones" before iPhone but there just weren't the same. iPhone really kicked it off. that thing blew my mind when it came out. an ipod that could make calls and go on the internet? i remember going into an apple store after school and calling my dad "i'm using an iphone!" lol

I remember lamenting how far behind Japan the US was in mobile phone technology at the time, and just being excited that iPhone gave US consumers a device that was about as capable as what Japan already had.

The capabilities of the original iPhone weren't that spectacular, really. It really was only the 3 things Jobs claimed it was: a good phone, an iPod, and an internet communication device. The multitouch screen leveled it up against what else was out there, and pulling up the NYTimes website in all its glory was slick, but it was still fairly evolutionary in the broader scheme of things.

It was opening the SDK, and the AppStore that turned it into a phenomenon. Something Jobs was, at least publicly, resistant to. "There's an app for that" is what separated iPhone from the rest of the mobile phone world.

 

[usagora]

It would be almost as bad as throwing a steel ball at the "armor glass" window of your fancy new pickup truck and having it shatter. Twice.

Musk should've used Ceramic Shield 🤷‍♂️

 

[0924487]

it's insane just how important the iphone was. if you had to pick a single product that changed human lives (in the last couple decades) it's the iphone. i don't want to sound like an insane apple fanboy but seriously... where would the world be if smartphones didn't become popular and apps didn't exist in their current form.

i'd like to see that alternative timeline just out of curiosity. i know there were "smartphones" before iPhone but there just weren't the same. iPhone really kicked it off. that thing blew my mind when it came out. an ipod that could make calls and go on the internet? i remember going into an apple store after school and calling my dad "i'm using an iphone!" lol

Maybe we would have an explosion of other HDI (human device interface) devices, such as brain device interfaces.

 

[transpo1]

Love him or hate him, he was a true visionary whose influence spanned further than just tech. A lot of companies wouldn't be what they are today (or even exist) without this man.

A true visionary with a touch of genius. He didn’t build the computers or iPhones but he really did have an incredible image in his mind for what they could be. And he pushed people to their limits to achieve this potential. He is missed.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Love him or hate him, he was a true visionary whose influence spanned further than just tech. A lot of companies wouldn't be what they are today (or even exist) without this man.

Including Microsoft!

anyone recall the macintosh and how that propelled Microsoft (their DOS wasn’t ready but they did an increíble deal with IBM that I’m sure IBM regretted for decades.