It was a proof of concept that has gone down in the annals of communications history alongside Alexander Bell’s invention of the telephone in 1876.
Here are 50 moments from the last 50 years that made our smartphones what they are today.
1. Dawn of 1G (1979)
You can’t get to 5G without one to four, and Japan introduced the first widely available analogue cellular system in 1979 – the catch was it didn’t work outside cars, as portable batteries weren’t powerful enough to go truly mobile.
2. The first mobile (1983)
The device used by Cooper in Manhattan on 3 April 1973 was a prototype of Motorola’s DynaTAC 8000X – the first commercially available mobile. It cost $3,995 ($12,000 today) and took 10 hours to charge for half an hour of call time.
Image: Martin Cooper holds a replica of the first mobile phone at a trade show in 2008
3. UK’s first mobile phone call (1985)
Michael Harrison made the UK’s first mobile call from London’s Parliament Square on 1 January 1985 to his dad, Vodafone chairman Sir Ernest Harrison.
“Hi Dad, it’s Mike. This is the first-ever call made on a UK commercial mobile network,” he said, prompting raucous celebrations at Vodafone’s original HQ above an Indian restaurant in Newbury.
Image: Michael Harrison makes the UK’s first mobile phone call. Pic: Vodafone
4. Flippin’ ‘eck! (1989)
The mobile phone went from potential doorstep to something that James Bond might have considered using with Motorola’s MicroTAC 9800X. The device itself was sexier than the name, as it introduced the flip phone format.
Image: The MicroTAC 9800X. Pic: Redrum0486 at English Wikipedia
5. Mobiles go digital (1991)
Another extremely catchy name here – Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). That was the European standard for what became known as 2G. It’s what we have to thank for SMS text messaging.
6. ‘Merry Christmas’ (1992)
That was the festive greeting in the first text message sent to a mobile on 3 December 1992. It was sent by British engineer Neil Papworth from a PC to an Orbitel 901 phone. Sky News interviewed him for the 25th anniversary – suitably, it was done by text.
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2:04
What was the first SMS message?
7. Nokia brings UK up to speed (1992)
While Orbitel had introduced 2G by the time Nokia launched its 1011 phone, the Finnish firm’s effort was more pocketable and affordable, which helped bring the technology to Britons en masse.
Image: Nokia’s 1011
8. A phone called Simon (1994)
Forget the iPhone, the first smartphone was Simon – a touchscreen device from IBM. It only worked in 15 US states and sold around 50,000 units, but in many ways was ahead of its time.
Image: IBM’s Simon phone. Pic: TheToyChannel on YouTube by Mike Mozart
9. That ringtone… (1994)
Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Wet Wet Wet – just some of the artists in the charts in 1994. But there was one sound that defined the year, and that was the iconic Nokia ringtone that had an entire generation reaching for their pockets.
10. GSM gets an A (1995)
The founding of the GSM Association brought mobile operators into a trade body. It hosts Mobile World Congress, where many companies make big product announcements.
11. Slide into your SMS (1996)
We’ve had phones that flip and fold, but don’t forget ones that slide. The Nokia 8110, perhaps best known for appearing in The Matrix, had a hidden number pad revealed by sliding a cover off.
12. The first colour screen (1997)
A year before Nintendo‘s Game Boy got the colour treatment, the Siemens S10 was the first mobile to do it. Alas it couldn’t even show all the colours of the rainbow – only managing red, green, and blue.
13. Snake gets us gaming (1997)
The Game Boy would gain an unexpected rival when the Nokia 6110 arrived with Snake on board. Few games have been so synonymous with one device – it’s up there with Tetris on the Game Boy and Wii Sports on the… Wii.
Image: Best. Game. Ever? Pic: James Hamilton-Martin
14. Showing your style (1998)
We’ve long been used to phones coming in different colours and lots of case options, but it wasn’t always easy to customise them. It took until the Nokia 5110 for a manufacturer to try to cash in with interchangeable covers.
15. For the kids! (1999)
The Nokia 3210 is pure 90s nostalgia, and probably one of the most recognisable mobiles ever. It was thinner and lighter than the company’s previous phones, came with multiple games (including Snake, obvs), finally ditched the walkie-talkie-style external antenna, and could send picture messages.
Throw in a £150 launch price and the arrival of pay-as-you-go SIM cards and parents would soon find out that Tamagotchis just weren’t going to cut it any more.
Image: Nokia 3210. Pic: MiNe/Flickr
16. Surf the web! (1999)
Not content with the 3210, Nokia also launched the 7110 model in 1999 – the first web phone. It could give you news, email, and – get this – even download new ringtones.
17. The first camera phone (2000)
You may not have heard of the Sharp J-SH04, given it was only available in Japan. But its place in mobile phone folklore has always been assured, as it was the first to be equipped with a camera.
Image: The Sharp J-SH04 camera phone. Pic: Morio
18. Colour me impressed, Mr Bond (2001)
The first mobiles with full colour screens arrived in 2001, led by the Sony Ericsson T68I. It was also the first commercially available mobile to appear in the James Bond films, debuting in Die Another Day.
19. Camera phones go mainstream (2002)
Nokia took Sharp’s camera phone concept and ran with it across Europe with the 7650. The 0.3 megapixel lens was hidden behind a slider on the back.
20. BlackBerry means business (2002)
If you walked past a busy looking person in a suit in 2002, chances are they were packing a BlackBerry. The 5810 model smashed a full QWERTY on to a mobile to appeal to business types. No fun allowed here – this was a serious work phone for serious work people, who wanted to write serious emails about meetings and stuff, not play Snake.
Image: BlackBerry phones have since been killed off
21. The arrival of 3G (2003)
3G was so much faster than 2G, people could do things usually reserved for a PC – like video calls. It laid the groundwork for many of the features key to the incoming wave of smartphones, like downloading apps.
22. Crazy Frog… (2003)
3G also made it easier to get new ringtones – and there was an annoying mascot to take advantage. A dark time.
23. Nokia’s best-selling phone (2003)
The arrival of 3G didn’t stop the relatively basic Nokia 1100 from becoming a runaway success, largely thanks to its cheap price and famous battery life. Its popularity in developing countries made it the best-selling mobile ever, with more than 250 million sold.
Image: The Nokia 1100 is the best-selling phone ever
24. The world’s favourite flip phone (2004)
There was one obvious downside to flip phones – you couldn’t see the screen at a glance. But that changed with Motorola’s Razr line, which popped a little display on the cover to show information like the time. The V3 model that launched in 2004 sold more than 130 million units, making it the most popular phone of its type.
Image: Motorola’s Razr line proved incredibly popular
25. Google buys Android (2005)
Google is still thought of as mostly a search company, but its $50m purchase of Android transformed the phone landscape forever. It’s the backbone of just about every non-Apple handset, and has batted away would-be rivals like Microsoft and Nokia to become the iPhone maker’s only real rival.
26. Nokia makes a familiar pitch (2006)
Ah, Nokia. A staple of the history of mobile phones, but also a sign of how quickly things can change.
The firm was on top of the world when it made a familiar pitch for the future: its N95 would be not a phone, but an all-in-one entertainment device. But by the time the N95 hit store shelves in early 2007, the iPhone was on the way.
Image: The Nokia N95. Pic: Asim18
27. The iPhone (2007)
Riding high on the success of the iPod (remember those?), Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in January 2007 and Apple’s first phone was in people’s hands by June. Its innovative multi-touch display covering most of the device helped see it named Time Magazine’s invention of the year.
Image: Steve Jobs unveils Apple’s iPhone in 2007
28. App to the future (2008)
It’s easy to forget that the iPhone launched without its ubiquitous App Store, which opened on 10 July 2008. There were 500 apps at launch (remember the lightsaber one?) – now there are almost two million.
29. The first Android phone (2008)
Google’s Android purchase came to fruition in hardware terms with the G1 phone, which was made by HTC. It had a BlackBerry-style keyboard that slid out from under the touchscreen, and introduced push notifications.
Image: Google’s G1 phone was also known as the HTC Dream
30. WhatsApp launches (2009)
The brainchild of a couple of former Yahoo employees, WhatsApp made an unspectacular debut in 2009 but has become the world’s most popular messaging platform.
31. 4G brings the speed (2009)
Mobile networks got ready for another speed boost as 4G entered the market, helping power our increasing media habits while on the move.
32. Angry Birds (2009)
One of the most notoriously addictive smartphone games ever, Angry Birds invited millions of players to slingshot wingless chicks to destroy an army of green pigs. Weird pitch but you can’t argue with its success – there have been multiple sequels, spin-offs, two films, tonnes of merchandise and a TV show.
Image: These guys are kind of a big deal…
33. Google’s first smartphone (2010)
The first smartphone in Google’s own Nexus line was pitched as the purest Android experience you could get, providing rapid updates whenever the latest version of the software (always named after a dessert) was released.
Image: The Google Nexus One smartphone
34. Instagram launches (2010)
Few social media startups became a staple of the App Store as quickly as Instagram, with its focus on a feed of square-shaped photos from your friends making it a go-to.
Microsoft fancied it could take on Apple and Google when it tried to build a smartphone experience around its most famous product – Windows. It had a PC-like start screen and Microsoft apps like Internet Explorer and Skype, but Clippy was nowhere to be seen.
Image: Windows Phones launched in 2010
36. Apple’s massive misstep (2010)
Likely the iPhone’s greatest scandal emerged in 2010, when the iPhone 4 arrived with a serious antenna design flaw that meant users would lose signal if they held it in their left hand. Apple eventually acknowledged the problem after initially downplaying it, and sent out free cases to help. The company also settled a class action lawsuit.
Image: Steve Jobs shows off the iPhone 4
37. Unlock phones with your face (2011)
Most of us probably unlock our phones with our face these days, but it wasn’t always so reliable. Google and Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus took tentative steps into facial recognition, and while cool, it quickly became apparent it wasn’t particularly secure – you could trick it with photos.
Image: Siri has become a staple of all Apple products
39. The Google Play Store (2012)
Google’s answer to the App Store launched in 2012, replacing Android Market. The timing turned out to be good, as that year also saw the launch of a certain game called Candy Crush.
40. Fingers at the ready (2013)
Mobile biometrics like fingerprint scanners and the aforementioned facial unlocking didn’t become a staple of smartphones until Touch ID on the iPhone 5S. It later made its way to iPads and Macbooks.
Image: The iPhone and other smartphones adopted fingerprint technology
41. Facebook buys WhatsApp (2014)
Not content with his Instagram purchase, Mark Zuckerberg chucked $19bn at WhatsApp to bring the messaging company under the Facebook umbrella. It’s only more recently regulators seem to have started wondering whether allowing tech giants to monopolise was a good idea…
42. An iPhone on your wrist (2015)
Apple hadn’t released a new product in five years when the Watch arrived. You could say it was about time. The wearable has become a must-have gadget for many, inspiring lots of competitors, while recent versions are capable enough for you to go out without a phone whatsoever.
Image: Apple’s Watch series has become one of its most successful products
43. Pokemon Go gets us outside (2016)
Of course, nobody was going out without a phone in summer 2016, when Pokemon Go took over the world. The augmented reality game let 90s kids fulfil their childhood dreams of catching pocket monsters in the wild – this reporter’s best catch was a Pikachu at Strood train station.
Image: Pokemon Go sent millions of people on scavenger hunts
44. Samsung’s exploding batteries (2016)
Samsung is the world’s leading manufacturer of Android phones, so the crisis that engulfed the launch of its highly anticipated Galaxy Note 7 was hard to comprehend. The South Korean firm suspended sales of the phone due to faulty batteries causing some to explode or catch fire, which saw them banned from being taken on flights.
45. Google launches the Pixel (2016)
Google started making its own phones with the Pixel, replacing the old Nexus branding. The annoying adverts about removing chips from your photos didn’t arrive until six years later.
Image: Google Pixel phones arrived in 2016
46. Microsoft kills Windows Phone (2017)
Having failed to challenge iOS and Android’s dominance, Microsoft followed BlackBerry out of the market by killing Windows Phone. It was a stark admission of failure in what was otherwise a big year for phones, with the iPhone X marking the most dramatic design change to Apple’s flagship device in a decade.
47. TikTok goes global (2018)
TikTok as we know it became available worldwide in 2018, though it wasn’t until the COVID pandemic that its popularity went stratospheric. It now has a home on more than two billion phones – though for how much longer remains to be seen…
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1:04
2020: 5G conspiracies ‘dangerous nonsense’
49. COVID (2020)
Speaking of COVID, it had significant impact on smartphones. Supply chain disruption and reduced spending saw sales fall, while manufacturers had to start taking our new habits into account. Facial recognition features needed updates to recognise you with a mask on, and iOS and Android both rolled out contact-tracing functionality.
Image: Phones had to start accounting for us all wearing masks
50. USB-C you later (2022)
Tech giants have been used to getting their own way through much of the history of smartphones, but last year suggested that times may be changing. In a landmark move, the EU ruled that all mobiles must adopt the same charging standard – forcing Apple to ditch its long-held lightning connector in favour of USB-C.
Whatever happens in the next 50 years, at least we’ll have fewer tangled cables in our drawers.
Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.
He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Image: Pic: AP
His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.
It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.
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6:39
Trump’s tariffs explained
The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.
The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
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0:43
Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?
The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.
Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.
The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.
Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.
The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.
A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.
But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.
He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.
“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”
Israel is beginning a major expansion of its military operation in Gaza and will seize large areas of the territory, the country’s defence minister said.
Israel Katz said in a statement that there would be a large scale evacuation of the Palestinian population from fighting areas.
In a post on X, he wrote: “I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war.”
He said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel”.
The expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza deepens its renewed offensive.
The deal had seen the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, but collapsed before it could move to phase two, which would have involved the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
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1:08
26 March: Anti-Hamas chants heard at protest in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the al Mawasi area on the shore, which was previously designated a humanitarian zone.
Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, having expanded an area around the edge of the territory that had existed before the war, as well as a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.
This latest conflict began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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1:22
Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza
Aid group Doctors Without Borders warned on Wednesday that Israel’s month-long siege of Gaza means some critical medications are now short in supply and are running out, leaving Palestinians at risk of losing vital healthcare.
“The Israeli authorities’ have condemned the people of Gaza to unbearable suffering with their deadly siege,” said Myriam Laaroussi, the group’s emergency coordinator in Gaza.
“This deliberate infliction of harm on people is like a slow death; it must end immediately.”
“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.
It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.
It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.
It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.
Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.
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His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.
The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.
The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.
If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.
And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?
“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.
“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.
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2:52
‘Days of US being ripped off are over’
Dancing to the president’s tune
My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.
Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.
But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.
Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.
One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.
Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.
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6:03
Treasury minister: ‘We’ll do everything to secure a deal’
Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?
The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.
It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.
Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?
Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?
US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.
Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?
For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.