Apple’s Rough iPhone Launch 10 Years Ago Compared to Now

When I look back on Apple’s many product events, I’m always fascinated by the
iPhone 6
event a decade ago. It was a two-hour live stage event that gave us a bounty of new products that changed our world, but so much drama came from this event and the days that followed. 

And we may see nothing like it ever again. 

Watch this: Apple’s Big Blunders a Decade Ago: U2, Bendgate, Botched iOS 8

10:08

On September 9, 2014, we were introduced to iPhone 6 — the first phone to come in a Plus size — and a phone that was later tied to “Bendgate” headlines. Ten years later, no phone has ever been as thin, but we may see a return to thinnest iPhone ever next year.

At that same event, CEO
Tim Cook
introduced
Apple Watch
to the world — along with the vision of it being a high-end luxury jewelry heirloom product worth tens of thousands of dollars. A decade later, the luxury models are obsolete, and fashionistas might find themselves departing with their expensive bands. The redesigned tenth edition of that Watch, rumored to be revealed in a few weeks, may not be compatible with older wristbands. 

But most Apple users remember something else from this event — it was the day when Apple put a U2 album on everyone’s iPhone. The band performs live for the crowd, and then Bono gets on stage with Cook to announce in that very moment, everyone got the album Songs of Innocence on their machines.

And then everyone was left confused on how to remove Songs of Innocence on their machines. (Turns out you couldn’t delete it from the iCloud.) Bono apologized (twice), and Apple needed to create a fix for the situation.

In this week’s episode of One More Thing, which you can watch embedded above, I dive into these and other awkward moments from the launch a decade ago. In the days that followed this event, Apple also botched an iOS 8 update and had to recall the
software
for causing major bugs to cellular connections. And this event marked the launch of Apple Pay — and numerous follow-up stories covered on why retailers didn’t want to play ball with Apple’s new mobile payment system. Apple’s promise to replace the wallet still hasn’t come true a decade later — but it did improve since launch. 

As we approach the launch of the iPhone 16 and the tenth anniversary of the Apple Watch, it’s wild to think how much as changed, and what feels the same. And for all the stumbles that occurred in the days surrounding that event, I do long for the days Apple was bold enough to take so many risks and have a live show (with a musical act, no less). I’m not sure we’ll see a live event like this again — but I hope we do.