18 Interesting Facts About Smartphones

Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. Whether we’re using them to check emails, watch videos, or browse the Internet, there’s no doubt that smartphones are here to stay. But how much do you really know about them? Here are 18 interesting facts about smartphones that you may not have known.

1.There are approximately 7 billion smartphones in the world.

That’s right, there are more than 7 billion smartphones worldwide.

2.On April 3, 1973, the first handheld mobile phone call was made.

On this day back in 1973, Martin Cooper called his rival at Motorola to let him know what he had done—calling their competitor before three days to find out if they could announce it themselves! It took the team a further three years before they actually started bringing out "a mobile phone of a type that would be suitable for customers to use."

3. The first smartphone was created in 1992.

The very first smart device came out in 1992 and is attributed to IBM! This invention worked on an operating system called P-OS (which stood for Personal Computer Operating system), and it had many features, such as e-mail (funnily enough!), faxes, and word processing programs. Unfortunately, there wasn't much demand for this product at all and it was shut down within a year after its release. However, it paved the way for smartphones, which we know and love today.

4. The first touchscreen smartphone was released in 1999.

Although it wasn't actually released until 2000, the very first smartphone to feature a touch-sensitive screen in the form of a stylus was created by IBM. Known as the Simon Personal Communicator, this phone was only launched in the United States and Asia – which is why most people have never heard of it! This invention had a lot of features for its time – such as e-mail, faxing, and even "predictive text" (something that old people like me don’t know anything about! ), but failed due to a lack of demand from consumers looking for something more affordable.

5. iPhone sales have been dropping since 2014.

This may come as a shock, but we've actually been buying fewer and fewer iPhones every year since 2014, when we saw over 74 million iPhone sales. iPhone sales have increased since the release of the iPhone X in November 2017.

6. Android accounts for 85% of the mobile operating system market.

Android used to only own 50% of the market back in 2011, but more than a decade later, we're looking at an impressive 85% domination rate for Google's mobile operating system. This means that if you have an Android phone, you're in the majority!

7. Samsung makes more phones than anyone else in the world.

This Korean company is by far the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, with a whopping 23% market share as of 2017. This is largely due to the fact that they produce a wide range of smartphones, from budget-friendly models to high-end devices, making it easier for people to find a device that's perfect for them.

8. Apple has the most expensive smartphones.

As you would expect from one of the biggest tech companies in the world, Apple's iPhones come with a pretty hefty price tag. The most basic model (the iPhone SE) starts at $399, while the most expensive (the iPhone X) will set you back a cool $1,149! This is in stark comparison to the likes of Samsung and Huawei, who produce smartphones that are much more affordable for the average person.

9. The first text message was sent in 1992.

Although we may not remember this, the very first text message was sent way back in 1992 by Neil Papworth. He sent the message "Merry Christmas" to Richard Jarvis, and it took up an entire 160 bytes! It may not seem like a lot now, but this was pretty impressive at the time, considering how long it would take to type out a message on a standard phone.

10.Smartphones are highly addictive.

This one probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone, but smartphones are actually highly addictive. This is because they stimulate the brain in a way that's similar to drugs and alcohol, making it difficult for people to put their phones down. In fact, some researchers have even gone as far as calling smartphones "digital heroin."

11. We check our phones an average of 150 times per day.

This statistic is pretty scary when you think about it-we're checking our phones an average of 150 times per day! This means that we're spending around 5 hours each day glued to our screens, and this number is only going to increase as time goes on.

12. The first iPhone was released in 2007.

As mentioned before, the first iPhone was released by Apple all the way back in 2007. However, this was actually the third iPhone that Apple had ever released, with the first two being unsuccessful attempts that were never sold to the public. Following this, Steve Jobs completely redesigned the phone and brought it back into production, where it would go on to become one of Apple's most successful products of all time.

13. People spend an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes on their smartphones every day (and more)

This statistic is pretty worrying considering how we know our phones are highly addictive! As such, we can probably expect this number to continue rising over time as we see more and more people becoming hooked on their devices. This has even led some researchers to call smartphones "digital heroin."

14. There used to be a tablet computer called the Newton.

Before the first iPad was released all the way back in 2010, Apple actually produced a tablet computer called the Newton. This device had a big focus on handwriting recognition technology and could transfer notes taken using a stylus directly to a Mac. However, it didn't sell very well due to its high price tag and complicated user interface. It was discontinued just two years later, following poor sales performance.

15. The Android operating system is open source.

Although you might think that Google's Android operating system is absolutely free of charge, the fact of the matter is that this isn't exactly true. In fact, Google charges phone manufacturers up to $40 per device so they can license their suite of apps (which includes Gmail and YouTube) for use on their new smartphones. However, Google did originally release Android under an open-source license, which allowed companies to modify the code and create a device that was similar to an Android phone but with a different skin.

16. The iPhone 5 is the most expensive mass-produced smartphone in history.

Although this isn't exactly related to interesting facts about smartphones, it's definitely worth mentioning! You see, Apple's iPhone 5 model was actually made from four components, which were pieced together using high-tech machines designed by engineers at Apple HQ. This led to its price tag being so ridiculously high-reportedly $207 for each individual part. It makes sense when you think about it, considering how difficult and time-consuming it would be to produce such intricate pieces of technology on an assembly line.

17.The average person spends around 4 hours per week on their phone in bed.

This number is pretty alarming when you think about it! It means that the average person is spending around 1/6th of their entire week glued to their smartphone screen. This can obviously have some pretty negative consequences for our sleep patterns and overall health, so it's definitely something we should all be aware of.

18.Smartphones are the future.

And finally, we come to the most obvious, but still interesting, fact about smartphones: Smartphones are the future. There's no doubt about that. We're already seeing more and more people relying on them for everyday tasks, and this trend is only going to continue as time goes on. This has led many people to wonder what the world will be like when everyone is using a smartphone all at once.