The iPhone is 10 years old.

Marmite

I love Marmite. Maybe that’s why I have chosen Unilever as one of the shares we own. Maybe; but I think the real reason is Unilever’s product range is aimed squarely at females. Over 80% of their product range is bought by women. On the whole us men buy very little, women make 93% of all buying decisions in couples.

But we guys do buy gadgets.

WARNING! If you are not a fan of Apple, or even a little curious about them, then you are now excused. Free to go about your daily business once again.

The iPhone

I love the iPhone. Maybe that’s why we all own Apple shares within our Legal & General Global Technology index Fund. Maybe; but I think the real reason is Apple’s product range is aimed squarely at every man, woman and child on Earth. It’s also one of the largest and most profitable businesses on the planet. It has more in reserves than both the U.K’s & Canada’s foreign cash reserves combined! More than a quarter of a trillion dollars. That’s why it forms 15.3% of the Global Technology Index, which translates to around 2.7% of our typical Moderate portfolio. Just about our largest holding at over £2 million.

I was previously a die hard Microsoft addict

My first business computer ran on MS-DOS back in 1990. As soon as Windows 95 appeared I was hooked. My 20 year love/hate relationship with Microsoft had begun. In the office we continued to run servers and desktops until 2011. Today we just have one laptop for archive purposes.

Enter the MacBook

My first Apple product was thrust upon me by accident in 2006. It was a wine damaged MacBook, which refused to die. A quick dry-out and a fuse change and it came back to life. Both myself and our business have never looked back since. Within a month or two I had managed to create the beginnings of this website – such was the ease of the operating system. Creating a website was something I had never managed to achieve using Microsoft products. I was in awe of the logic and ease of use. And the speed. My Microsoft machines took an age just to get to the first screen, the MacBook was up and ready to go the second the lid was opened.

So when the iPhone 3 came out in 2007 I enthusiastically gave it a go. I was already using a Sony Ericsson “not so smart phone”, which ran on Windows mobile and synced with my car only when it felt like it.

A Decade of iPhones

The iPhone 3 was just so eeeeeeasy. I have owned a 3, 3s, 4, 5, 5s, 6 & my current weapon of choice a 7+. Even though the screens have got progressive larger over time, I don’t seem to get any benefit. My eyes just reflect that I’ve also got progressively 10 years older. I’m sure I’m not alone, that’s why the 7+ exists for 50 somethings like me.

So here’s what the iPhone has done for me.

• I don’t get lost anymore. I used to carry all manner of A-Z maps in my car, along with an AA map book. We all did. Now many smartphone users don’t bother specifying Sat Nav for their new cars nor buy stand alone Tom Tom units. The iPhone has brought down the cost of Sat. Nav. for everyone.
• I will never need a torch again I guess.
• I will never buy a calculator again.
• I’m now a competent photographer. Along with the advent of selfies, individuals who would be frightened to pick up a serious camera now don’t need to do so. Point and shoot cameras will probably disappear altogether. I love the opportunity of always having a camera to hand, not to mention a full cine-camera. I can shoot short films in HD quality, and create time-lapse and slow motion clips. All the editing can be carried out directly on the iPhone. If I was brave enough I could now even film underwater!
• I will never need a photocopier or a scanner. Just take a picture of a piece of paper and the iPhone turns that into a PDF and stores it.
• I can’t remember the last time I visited a bank. I think my last cheque book has lasted well over four years so far. And no, that’s not just because I’m tight. Cash transfers to and from friends take seconds, I can pay with my fingerprint alone for many smaller items these days. I always know what my bank balance is. Marvellous.
• I will never forget a phone number. Neither do I need a phone book or address book.
• I (should) never forget an appointment because my phone doesn’t. I can check any diary appointment I have had booked in the past since 1995.
  I can tell you now if I am available for a meeting at any point in the future.
• I carry a whole bank of 4 drawer filing-cabinets in my pocket. I have secure access to any client document I have been sent or created since 2003 on my phone within seconds.
• I can carry my entire music, book and film collection. The largest benefit is the storage space it saves at home and the fact it’s always with me when I travel. I have immediate access to almost any song, book or film ever made.
• I know the current price of any UK share and can buy or sell from anywhere. Being always up to speed has both saved us money and made us money.
• My iPhone wakes me each morning. It alerts me when my boiled eggs are done to perfection. It reminds me I need to use my inhaler. It tells me the exercise I’ve taken, the distance I’ve run today and ever run and the calories I’ve consumed. It knows what time it is anywhere in the world.
• It’s part of my security system. I can receive an alert if a car moves when it shouldn’t or someone is lurking about behind the office. I can open my garage door to let someone in.
• Oh yes I can make a phone call, but hardly ever do! I regularly hold video calls these days. The iPhone shouldn’t still be called a phone, it should have a much more grand title.

So!

I guess none of the above will shock anyone. Everybody can do this and many clients do exactly what I do. What is shocking sometimes is that we all now take this technology for granted and have forgotten how we used to do things just 10 years ago.

• Licking Stamps
• Endless Photocopying
• Punching holes in paper
• Filing
• Buying endless reams of paper
• Hanging on the phone for hours
• Waiting in because we didn’t know when deliveries would arrive.

We have come so far in just a decade, I wonder what the next decade will bring? We will probably look back at 2017 from 2027 in the same way we are looking back at 2007 today. We will snigger as we remember.

Admittedly the iPhone and Apple have not done all this alone. That’s why we also all own Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Cisco Systems, NVidea……..

Tell me what you do with your smart phone that you never thought you would do. 😀