The One Device
The Secret History of the iPhone
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4.2 • 74 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The secret history of the invention that changed everything-and became the most profitable product in the world.
"The One Device is a tour de force, with a fast-paced edge and heaps of analytical insight."-Ashlee Vance, New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk
"A stunning book. You will never look at your iPhone the same way again." -Dan Lyons, New York Times bestselling author of Disrupted
Odds are that as you read this, an iPhone is within reach. But before Steve Jobs introduced us to "the one device," as he called it, a cell phone was merely what you used to make calls on the go.
How did the iPhone transform our world and turn Apple into the most valuable company ever? Veteran technology journalist Brian Merchant reveals the inside story you won't hear from Cupertino-based on his exclusive interviews with the engineers, inventors, and developers who guided every stage of the iPhone's creation.
This deep dive takes you from inside One Infinite Loop to 19th century France to WWII America, from the driest place on earth to a Kenyan pit of toxic e-waste, and even deep inside Shenzhen's notorious "suicide factories." It's a firsthand look at how the cutting-edge tech that makes the world work-touch screens, motion trackers, and even AI-made their way into our pockets.
The One Device is a roadmap for design and engineering genius, an anthropology of the modern age, and an unprecedented view into one of the most secretive companies in history. This is the untold account, ten years in the making, of the device that changed everything.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic read
This guy literally went to the ends of the earth to bring the true iPhone story to the reader. Well done!
Incredibly detailed, a great read
I was expecting to read about the creation of the iPhone, and of the people that made it happen. And it describes that very well (at least, as well as one could expect from a book about a product created by a company as secretive as Apple). In particular, the information about the people involved in creating the iPhone was very interesting to me.
What I wasn’t expecting was Merchant’s explanations of the history behind all the technologies that went INTO creating it. No, Apple didn’t invent the Smartphone, or multi-touch, or Wi-Fi, or cell phone radio technology, or accelerometers, or CCD camera imagers, or lithium-ion batteries, or Gorilla Glass, or GPS. But Merchant provides the history of, or at the very least, great insight into, ALL of these technologies and so many more, and then explains in an entertaining way how Apple brought all these things together to create the iPhone.
Merchant also delves into the somewhat questionable efforts that go into manufacturing the iPhone (and other Smartphones). He even explores many of the social and environmental issues surrounding the iPhone, and Smartphones in general, which surprised me as well.
This book really covers all the bases! There is a LOT of information here and I found it all a fascinating read. Perhaps someone who isn’t a big fan of technology might find it overkill, but honestly, that kind of person probably wouldn’t be interested in a book like this anyway. Speaking for myself, as a lifelong electronics and technology fan, I loved every page of it.
The one device
Excellent book on the. Hiśtoy if the iPhone