2007 Vs. 2026 Apple iPhone: What's Changed Over The Years?

Nearly 20 years ago, Apple launched the very first iPhone, which would go on to build today's strong following. It was completely different from the other mobile phones of the time, largely because of its bold move to do away with the then-common physical keypads and go with a full touch display. This gave users such a unique experience, one soon copied by several (eventually) iconic Android phones that emerged with similar features to ride the touchscreen wave. 

Now, almost two decades later, the iPhone is still thriving and only keeps growing in popularity. In September 2026, in fact, Apple released its latest model, the iPhone 18 series. Twenty years of technological advancement naturally puts the 2026 iPhone way ahead of its 2007 counterpart. But what exactly changed over the years? Here's a quick look at the major developments in terms of hardware and software between the 2007 iPhone and the 2026 iPhone (specifically the iPhone 18 Pro Max). 

Take one look at the iPhones from 2007 and 2026, and you'll immediately notice that the biggest change between the two is the display size. The first-gen iPhone sported a 3.5-inch multi-touch display with a resolution of 480 by 320 pixels and a density of 163 pixels per inch (ppi). It was revolutionary at the time, but compared to the latest-generation iPhone's 6.9-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2868 by 1320 and a density of 460 ppi, the difference is definitely night and day.

The same night-and-day difference is obvious in the two iPhones' cameras. While the 2007 iPhone had a single two-megapixel (MP) rear camera, the 2026 iPhone includes four cameras: a 48 MP main rear camera with variable aperture, a 48 MP rear ultrawide camera, a 48 MP rear telephoto camera, and an 18 MP front camera. This modern camera system comes with all sorts of photography-centered perks, including video recording and tap to focus.

How you charge your iPhone is also significantly different on the 2007 and 2026 models. The first-ever iPhone used Apple's proprietary 30-pin dock connector cable, which, fortunately, came with the device. Meanwhile, the 2026 iPhone is built with the standard USB-C port for wired charging and MagSafe for wireless charging, so you can now choose between two types of charging methods for modern iPhones. Then, there's the connection to iPhone accessories, specifically headphones. The  2007 iPhone included a headset jack at the top of the device. This let you use wired headphones even while you were charging your iPhone. Apple axed the headset jack with iPhone 7, though. You can still pair the 2026 iPhone with wired headphones, but they're now connected to the USB-C port, the same one used for charging.

There have been many changes with iOS over the course of nearly two decades, bringing new features that dramatically enhanced what you can now do on the iPhone. Probably the biggest software upgrade between the 2007 and 2026 iPhones is Siri. When the first-generation iPhone was released, it didn't have Siri built in. In fact, the voice assistant didn't debut until four years later, with the iPhone 4S. Meanwhile, the iPhone 18 Pro Max comes complete with the most intelligent version of Siri yet: Siri AI. Siri AI features are powered by artificial intelligence and range from answering basic general knowledge questions to finding your oldest personal photos in the gallery.

Another massive software improvement from the 2007 iPhone to the 2026 iPhone is the App Store. The 2007 iPhone lacked the now widely used App Store, which only came out a year later, at the same time as the iPhone 3G. So, instead of downloading third-party apps, you were stuck with the built-in apps like Safari and any web-based apps available at that time. On the other hand, the 2026 iPhone has a full-blown App Store, with almost two million apps you can choose from. These apps let you stream movies, hop on video calls, and play games, among other things.

Software support between the first-gen and latest-gen iPhones is massively different, as well. The 2007 iPhone only received two major iOS upgrades, which stopped with iOS 3. For the 2026 iPhone, users can expect at least twice as many years of software support. After all, iOS 27 extends support to phones as old as the iPhone 11, which came out in 2019.