Key Difference: iPhone is the flagship phone developed and manufactured solely by Apple. The device operates on Apple’s iOS operating system and is currently in its 5^th generation. Smartphones are any mobile phones that are similar to a mini computer. Smartphones offer a variety of features that allows advanced computing capability and connectivity.

Smartphones and iPhones are two terms that actually go hand-in-hand. iPhones actually fall in to the smartphone category and fulfill the basic criteria of what a smartphone should be. iPhones are one of the most popular phones that are currently available on the market and is single-handedly providing competition to Android, Windows and many other operating systems available in the market. A smartphone is a phone that allows computing capabilities and has an operating system. The iPhones allows 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi and many other capabilities and runs on the iOS operating system, making the iPhone a smartphone. It is quite easy to get confused in all the technological terms which are constantly being simplified for the non-techies, but many people get caught up in the middle of the whole tech and non-tech language and end up becoming confused by various terms.

iPhone is the flagship phone developed and manufactured solely by Apple. The device operates on Apple’s iOS operating system and is currently in its 5^th generation. The latest phone was the Apple iPhone 5, launched on September 21, 2012. The first generation or the original iPhone was announced by the company in June 2007. The iPhone became an instant success with many techies as it was technologically advanced as well as aesthetically appealing. The idea of a multi-touch screen that allowed users to directly input data on to the screen, thus eliminating the need for mouse, keyboard or keys, was conceived by then Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. He revolutionized the phone. Another new feature that was introduced by the phone was the Apple Store, an online application distribution platform that allows users to directly purchase and download applications on to the phone. The iPhones have been praised for their looks, design, performance and their tight security; however, they lack customization ability, they are strict in terms of guidelines, they are quite expensive and even if damaged, repair is quite costly.

Smartphone is a mobile phone that operates on an operating system, similar to a mini computer. Smartphones are basically that – a mini computer. They offer a variety of features such as calling capabilities, computing capabilities, video conferencing, online surfing, cameras, media players, GPS navigation units, etc. Any mobile phone that lets you do the work of a computer is considered as a smartphone. Smartphone are powered by operating systems such as Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, etc.  The term ‘smartphone’ was introduced into the market by Ericsson in 1997, when it used the word to describe its GS 88 ‘Penelope’ concept as a smartphone. There is no clear distinction that decides which phones are smartphone and which phones are not. However, with the increasing technology and offerings in a phone, the category has expanded to include all the new features that are currently available in the market.

Apple can be considered as one of the reasons that have boosted the popularity of smartphones in today’s society. Apple’s iPhones have started new trends and set many standards in the smartphone world. The company’s phones provide both aesthetic appeal as well as amazing features that has garnered many loyal fans for the company. 

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