Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

What’s the most influential gadget ever? According to Time, it starts with an “i”

Steve Jobs iPhone
Image used with permission by copyright holder
If you’re an iPhone owner, you happen to own the most influential gadget ever, according to Time’s new list.

Apple Offer: Trade up to a new iPhone for as low as $10 a month

Recommended Videos

The “50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time” list was published on Tuesday. It notes that while smartphones existed before the 2007 iPhone, “none came together as accessibly and beautifully as the iPhone.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

It goes on to say that Apple truly changed the game, putting a powerful computer “into the pockets of millions.” The phone market was just another industry that Apple revolutionized, having previously changed the music business with the iPod and iTunes.

The iPhone wasn’t the only Apple product on the list. Actually, it wasn’t even the only Apple product in the top 10, with the Macintosh sitting in third place and the original iPod snagging the ninth spot. Both products were arguably the most important in their category. While the Macintosh wasn’t the top-selling computer by any means, it was one of the first to ship with a mouse, helping change the way we interact with computers.

Of course, there are plenty of other great and influential gadgets on the list. In second place is the Sony Trinitron television, which was released in 1968, just as color TVs were taking off. This TV, however, was notable for merging what until then was three separate electron guns, an innovation that helped Sony sell more than 100,000 units.

The list is a good read, if not just for nostalgia’s sake — the Sony Walkman comes in at fourth, the Victrola record player is No. 6, and the Atari 2600 sits in 13th place. A few more recent devices also made the list; the Apple iPad features at number 25 as the device that pushed tablets into the limelight, and the Oculus Rift came in at 39th, despite the fact that it hasn’t even gone through its full release yet. Even Google Glass made the list, albeit just by a whisker, coming in at number 50.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
Apple might discontinue its most ‘courageous’ iPhone accessory
Apple's Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter.

Apple introduced the iPhone 7 in 2016. The phone is noted for being the first Apple handset to ship without a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack — something Apple infamously praised as a move that took "courage."

At a time when most wired headphones needed one of those jacks to listen to music, Apple had an interesting solution: a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter that shipped with every new phone. According to MacRumors, Apple is set to end production on that accessory.

Read more
How to use iOS 18 FaceTime gestures (and what they look like)
Video reactions in macOS Sonoma, with the balloons effect in use.

Apple iOS 17 brought FaceTime gestures to the iPhone last year, livening up the FaceTime experience for all users. FaceTime gestures are even more useful now with iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence. Once it’s set up correctly, you’ll be able to send 3D animations to your friends and family during FaceTime video calls. You’ll even be able to trigger the animations with physical gestures.

Getting your phone ready for action doesn’t take much time or effort, but we put this guide together to walk you through the process nonetheless. 
How to make a FaceTime gesture in iOS 18

Read more
iOS 18 has a big privacy change. Here’s what it means for you
The iPhone 16 Pro, showing its iOS 18 home screen.

Apple has introduced several changes with iOS 18 this year, and many more are expected to come with iOS 18.1 and future versions in the upcoming weeks. These changes mainly involve the visual appearance of iOS, such as a revamped Control Center and the forthcoming debut of Apple Intelligence.

Recently, The New York Times highlighted another change Apple made in iOS 18 that has been much less discussed: the modifications to the Contact Sync feature.

Read more