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dellaposta's review against another edition
3.0
Full of interesting tidbits and stories, and pleasantly in-the-weeds on the history and development of the iPhone. However, the book is organized in a pretty non-intuitive way that makes it really difficult to keep track of the “characters” enough to care about any of the personal stories. I also felt like the author never exactly lands on the right tone (tough and critical or hyperbolically positive) or scope (sometimes glossing past jargony concepts and other times becoming overly digressive on centuries-old history) for the book. Still a good read for anyone interested in this history.
savoirplus's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.0
I learned quite a bit through the journey of this book.
It did show the negative affects of such a consumer device. And it pulled back the curtains of how the device got started, its roots, history and human element behind it.
I enjoyed reading it for the most part.
And I liked that the author went all over the world to track down key parts of the making of the device, i.e. mining in Cerro Rico + factories in China.
Also that he was able to speak to key people and get an inside scoop of what it was really like to create such a device.
Do wish he was able to get more information about the Secure Enclave. However kudos to the author for braving Defcon and getting his phone taken over. 😜
4 out 5 stars.
I'd recommend if you're interested in the history of the iPhone.
The book definitely has some information I haven't seen anywhere else.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
xfajardo's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
Apple arribó a la conclusión de que el mercado de los teléfonos estaba listo para un disruptor; y ellos tenían el pedigree, recursos y disposición para hacerlo. En ese momento pasaron de ser el campeón de las masas al estatus quo ipso facto. Mueres como un héroe o vives lo suficiente como para convertirte en el villano.
rick2's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastically fun read. In depth enough that I feel like I learned something. Used plain enough language that I never felt lost. Seemed to attempt to henestly portray the negative side effects of iPhone production without being preachy. Overall, this is what I look for in tech journalism.
rwarner's review against another edition
4.0
Learning what it takes to create the device in my pocket has added some guilt to my growing pile. Still, it was interesting to learn where the materials come from, where the ideas came from, how people assemble this thing, and what it took to get the hardware and software to come together. Fascinating.
swetzel9's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great overall look at what goes into making your iPhone, and really any high tech consumer device that gets made today. The author goes as far as visiting the mines where the rare earth elements that go into the phone are mined. You're left with being both amazed at everything that goes into your miracle-device-phone and kind of wondering if its worth it.
The other aspect of this book is how exactly the iPhone was conceived and built by Apple from 2005-2007. The author does a good job of cutting through the mythos of Steve Jobs as singular visionary and showing how the team that put it together came together and worked. He also traces the core technologies (multi-touch screens, wireless internet, tiny cameras, etc) that existed individually but came together so elegantly for the first time in the iPhone. If you're a fan of Apple or technology in general some of this won't be new (Turns out Steve Jobs was kind of a dick? Who knew?) but it was interesting to have it laid out so you could see the interlocking parts across base technologies, design and integration, and manufacturing.
The other aspect of this book is how exactly the iPhone was conceived and built by Apple from 2005-2007. The author does a good job of cutting through the mythos of Steve Jobs as singular visionary and showing how the team that put it together came together and worked. He also traces the core technologies (multi-touch screens, wireless internet, tiny cameras, etc) that existed individually but came together so elegantly for the first time in the iPhone. If you're a fan of Apple or technology in general some of this won't be new (Turns out Steve Jobs was kind of a dick? Who knew?) but it was interesting to have it laid out so you could see the interlocking parts across base technologies, design and integration, and manufacturing.
heyjarrod's review against another edition
4.0
Long, and very detailed, but not as captivating as I had expected.
dianchie's review against another edition
I love my iPhone and all the cool things it can do for me. I am integrated into the Apple ecosystem as much as any person, reasonably, could be. That said, this book just was not doing it for me. I maxed out my renewals and while I honestly tried to get through it, I was just pushing it too far.