Best iPhones in their historic context; at time of release vs other phones?
That is tough. Those would have to be the iPhones that changed or pushed the industry forward such that other phones followed. In that case, my vote would have to go to several:
- Original iPhone -> defined the smartphone. Enough said there. Set the foundation for the modern industry that now drives the world.
- iPhone 4 -> that screen resolution and premium quality to design. The iPhone 4 screen was unlike anything at the time. Also FaceTime and front facing cameras became a smart phone staple.
- iPhone 5S -> Unbelievable jump in performance at the time as well as 64 bit processing on a mobile phone being in the market 1-2 years before the competition thought it was possible.
Also, touch ID.
- iPhone X -> Edge to Edge design with the notch. True premium pricing. Many design followers after the notch. Many also followed up to premium pricing once Apple set the bar that high.
Some shout outs...
We could throw iPhone 3G in there -> although the phone itself didn't bring it, the App Store was pretty massive and a major sell point at the time of the 3G. Obviously the original iPhone users could also utilize this, but the 3G speeds made it feasible off of WiFi. The phone specs were otherwise identical but in a new case and cheaper to the masses. This is where iPhone really exploded globally. I remember so many people had them after the 3G came out.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus -> although they were not impressive spec updates over the 5S, and brought little in the way of performance enhancements, similar to the iPhone X they set a new bar and standard for the way the industry designed phones. In this case, the curved aluminum with the antenna bands. I know HTC did it first technically but the success of these phones really paved the way for the incredible design copy cats as well as the "Plus" model iteration that still exists to this day