A Brief History of Apps Forward Fast Are you looking for the best ice cream shop Eager to see how your friend’s haircut turned out Hoping there’s a game to help you study for that test tomorrow You probably turn to an app in all those situations and many more Let’s explore how the world of apps is connected with the world of STEAM Without science technology engineering art and math no one would ever have even seen an app Technology today provides an app for just about anything you can think of 4
And just what is an app Less than forty years ago only computer programmers used that word It was a shorter way to refer to computer applications or software Back then almost all telephones were connected with wires and you had to be at your office or home to make or answer a call Just a small percentage of offices and almost no homes had computers Then new technologies began to transform our daily lives Cellular phones were invented that could be carried with you everywhere you went Computers became smaller and cheaper every year and eventually became a part of nearly every business and household The Internet evolved into a system linking almost all the computers around the globe Banking and medical services available through cell phones and the Internet have improved the lives of people in developing countries 5
Steve Jobs 1955 2011 In 2007 Steve Jobs the head of Apple Inc made a presentation that has now become legendary Pacing on the stage he announced that Apple was introducing three products that would change everything a music player with touch controls a revolutionary mobile phone and an Internet communication device Then he delivered the punch line These are not three separate devices This is one device and we are calling it iPhone Hundreds of customers waited in line outside Apple stores to buy the first iPhones in June 2007 6
STEAM Fast Fact The iPhone came with apps like email an Internet browser and maps already installed Soon users of the phone were able to download additional apps from an online store Other brands and types of smartphones now compete with the iPhone and people all over the world increasingly rely on smartphones in their daily lives Apple awarded prizes to the users who downloaded milestone apps from its App Store A woman in England downloaded Paper Glider as the 10 billionth app a man in China downloaded Where's My Water a physics based puzzler as the 25 billionth app and a man from Ohio downloaded a word game Say the Same Thing as the 50 billionth app Total App Downloads from Apple's App Store 100 billion 50 billion 25 billion Worldwide iPhone availability iPhone availability since the release of iPhone 3G 10 billion 1 billion Launch July 2008 April 2009 January 2011 March 2012 May 2013 June 2015 7
