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What’s the difference between an iPhone and a Smartphone?

Today so many brand names are used to describe the type of product they are, that it can get quite confusing at times to understand the differences between them. People who wonder what the difference is between an iPhone and a smartphone are indeed confusing the two, since the iPhone is part of the smartphone product line. Let’s look more closely at smartphones and what separates the iPhone from other ones.

Confusing Product Names and Product Categories

Some people often ask: is there a difference between an iPhone and a smartphone? Or sometimes: what’s the difference between a mobile phone and an iPhone? That’s because they confuse the iPhone, which is a brand’s name, to the product line it is a part of. In fact, an iPhone is a mobile phone and a smartphone too. The modern language, with so many brands becoming product names, has made it difficult to sometimes differentiate between product names and product categories.

In this particular case, the iPhone is a mobile phone and a smartphone created by the brand Apple. It possesses its own specificities versus other mobile phones. Because it provides access to the internet and you can use mobile applications on them, it is also part of the category we call smartphones.

What is a Smartphone?

A smartphone is a mobile phone that can go online. It has also other computing capabilities and can be used for multi-purposes. It can access and utilize most software, and it possesses a multimedia functionality which lets you listen to music, watch videos and record them too, and it can also take pictures. Of course, you can use them to make phone calls and send text messages. Although they used to be quite the sensation ten years ago, today, the large majority of mobile phones are smartphones.

What is an iPhone?

If you asked: What is the difference between an iPhone and an Android? Then, this would not be a mistake. Indeed, the iPhone is not an Android phone. Today, most mobile phone from major brands function under the Android system. However, the iPhone has its own operations system, which is called the iOS.

The first iPhone was launched on the market in 2007 by Apple. They might not have known it at the time, but it would be the first one of a long line of iPhones, which would become the most popular and used smartphone in the world. The company usually launches a new version every year, which it declines in various formats which are the S, Plus and C models. They are recognizable by the Apple logo on the back but also by their very sleek, metal look and by how thin they are.

All of them possess a touchscreen and a camera, which is usually top of the line at the time the version comes out. Like all smartphones, they can connect to the internet through a 3G or 4G connection and they’ll enable the 5G as soon as it comes out, probably in the months to come.

Apple (the brand)

This company, built by Steve Jobs in California, USA, in 1976, has always been one of the leaders of the industry in terms of computers and mobile phones. It is recognized for its capacity to innovate. While most of their competitors follow the same route (Windows for PCs and Android for phones), Apple has developed its own lines (Mac and iPhone) with its own Operating systems in both cases. They also created quite a stir with the popularity of their iPods, which pre-dated the iPhones. They basically replaced Walkman and CD Players by inserting an incredible number of songs in a tiny device, thanks to digitalization.

But maybe its biggest success was the creation and the launch of the iPhone. When it came out, it looked like no other existing mobile phone, and today, almost all smartphones are created in the same design they invented. The iPhone is the leader of mobile phones and smartphones by afar. Its closest competitors are Samsung and Huawei.

Last year, Apple launched a VOD platform to compete against Netflix, Amazon and Disney (the biggest names in the industry). It will be interesting to see if they can become as important a player in this industry as in the other ones they are a part of. There were rumours more than a year ago that Apple wanted to buy Netflix. This could still be a possibility which would propel them right at the front of the class.

Is Your Vision Clearer about iPhones and Smartphones?

Hopefully, this article was able to clarify why there is no difference between an iPhone and a smartphone, since the first is only a brand name which is also part of the product line (smartphone). To compare the iPhone, you would need to position it besides other brands of mobile phones such as Samsung and Huawei. But if there is one thing you should know, it’s that no other brands in the world sell more smartphone than Apple with their iPhone.

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