For those who don’t remember: this is what the 2008 iPhone 3G with iOS 3.1.3

Occasionally, one has the opportunity to look back. That’s when you realize how quickly things have changed, even though in technology we always think they’re moving slowly. Sometimes, too many. Recently and after a move, I found my iPhone 3G again.

It’s the model I repaired a year ago. I changed the battery and the back cover, so except for these details, it’s the same terminal. A 3G iPhone that I used TinyUmbrella to downgrade to iOS 3.1.3. Or should I say iPhone OS? Holding it in my hand, a wave of memories have come to mind.

An iPhone that fits in the palm of your hand

If there is one thing that defines this model it is that: its size and rounded design allow it to fit in one hand. It’s amazing how small it is, especially next to a 2016 iPhone 7 Plus. The screen that now seems tiny to us was considered huge at the time.

Due to the repair and change of battery (the second in his life), I have slipped a speck of dust between the glass and the screen. The camera works, but it takes some terrible pictures. I think it’s unthinkable that I used it to take pictures from my vacation almost ten years ago. Now, the dual camera of the iPhone 7 Plus makes me forget about any camera other than my phone’ camera.

And what about the 30-pin connector? A connector that now looks like another century compared to the Lightning, which becomes 80% smaller. There are two other details that catch my eye: the Home button and the vibration motor. The first one doesn’t work quite well and you have to squeeze it tightly, but it is that when you do it after so long and after using the iPhone 7, it gives the feeling of being very rudimentary.

What about the vibration motor? An annoying ear-piercing bumblebee that pierces the ears compared to the tactic engine of the new iPhones. We were like savages, that’s what comes to mind when I think we used these devices. A primitive era.

However, when you have this terminal in your hand again and you turn it on, you realize how much things have changed. Because the hardware improvements are obvious and in the end, the real terminal that broke the schematics at this level was the original iPhone. It’s the software that makes the difference.

iOS 3.1.3: skeumorfism, buttons and gray colors

Swipe to unlock, highlighted buttons, blue and gray tones and skeumorfism. Skeumorfism everywhere! The passage of time is evident in the operating system of this iPhone 3G. A terminal whose iPhone OS 3.1.3 was still four years away from iOS 7, the version of iOS that has changed the look and feel of Apple’s mobile operating system the most.

All of this is reflected in the settings of each of these iPhones. White colors, no buttons enclosed in arrows in one, gray and full buttons in another.

Some things haven’t changed that much. The iOS home screen still shows a grid of apps on both terminals, but in the most modern one we have the widgets on the left instead of Spotlight.

Obviously, the App Store works but doesn’t load some of the more advanced features. There isn’t a single app that could have loaded on the iPhone 3G, not even those retro-apps we saw a few months ago. Having connected this vintage iPhone to the App Store, I guess the iOS 10 adoption statistics will have taken a step back.

There’s no ability to connect to YouTube (remember it came standard next to Google Maps?), or sync Apple Music music, watch weather (but it is the bag), make a call with FaceTime (no front camera!), or sync anything that has to watch with iCloud: contacts, notes, email, calendar, etc.

Despite all this, my iPhone 3G overflows memories on all four sides. A terminal that made me feel like I was living in a future that seemed to have stolen and it didn’t belong to me. A small computer stuck to a gigantic battery and screen. And it fit in his pocket.