Stylus pen: iPhone keeps its promise for nearly 20 years, only changes to iPhone Duo

When introducing the first iPhone at Macworld in January 2007, Jobs criticized phones with pens. In general, he said that no one wants to hold a pen, they have to take it out, put it back, then lose it, looking at it is boring. Fingers are the best thing, I was born with ten already. This sentence he said about the phone, talking about the iPhone.

And to be fair, on the iPhone, Apple kept his word for a long time. From 2007 until now, regular iPhones still do not support Apple Pencil. Only with the iPhone Duo, the first folding iPhone, does Apple use the USB-C Apple Pencil on both screens, available since the iOS 27.2 update on October 26. The pen is still sold separately, does not plug into the device, and is not required to be used.

As for Apple Pencil on iPad, it's a different story. When launching the first iPad in January 2010, Jobs also introduced it as a device with only a touch glass panel, no pointing device, just touch it with your finger. It wasn't until 2015 that Apple released the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro. So on the iPad it's also considered backwards, only the 2007 criticism was that he was talking about the phone.

Personally, I don't think either change really betrayed him. What Jobs criticized was the pen as a mandatory tool to press buttons and select menus, like the old Windows Mobile phones. The Apple Pencil is just an extra for those who need to draw, take notes, sign, or use their fingers so the device still runs smoothly. Particularly on the iPhone Duo, the inside screen opens up to be almost as big as an iPad mini, and having a pen to take notes is reasonable, not just for fun.

7-inch tablet: once called dead in the womb, now it's iPad mini

In October 2010, during Apple's quarterly financial report, Jobs spoke directly about his competitors' 7-inch tablets. Basically, he said that the screen is too small and difficult to touch accurately, unless the company provides sandpaper for users to grind their fingers to make it smaller. He also said that a 10-inch screen is the minimum size to make a decent tablet app, and called all 7-inch devices dead from the moment they came out.

Exactly two years later, in October 2012, Apple released the 7.9-inch iPad mini, which meant that Jobs had been dead for a year.

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In this case, I think Apple did the right thing. Once I got the device, I found it very enjoyable to hold it in one hand to read stories, watch movies, or play games. Many people still carry it with them to work like a notebook. To be fair, 7.9 inches is still a bit bigger than the 7-inch devices he criticized, and the iPad interface was also remade to fit. But whatever you say, he criticized the small size, and Apple still makes small devices.

Large screen phone: once said no one would buy it, now the Max version is the best seller

In July 2010, during a press conference about the iPhone 4's antenna error, when answering reporters, Jobs said that if you want to avoid signal weakness, just make a very big phone, so big that it can't fit in your hand, like other companies are making Hummer cars, but no one will buy that.

In 2014, Apple released the iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5-inch screen, followed by the Plus and Max lines. Now the Pro Max version is among the best-selling iPhones, in 2025 according to Counterpoint, the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be second in the world, only behind the regular iPhone 16.

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Here, I think Jobs is really wrong, and Apple is a bit late correcting it. Back then, phones were mainly for calling and texting. Now I watch videos, take photos, work on the phone all day, a big screen is a real need. The years Apple tried to keep the screen small meant the customers went to Samsung.

Touch Mac: used to say it was tiring, now MacBook Pro OLED

In October 2010, at the Back to the Mac event, Jobs explained why Apple does not make Macs with touch screens. What he basically meant was that Apple has tried many things, the screen stands up straight and if you touch it with your hand it gets tiring after a while. It looks good but can't be used for a long time, so touching it has to be horizontal like a trackpad.

And this year, 2026, Apple released the Touch Screen OLED MacBook Pro.

In this case, as I said in the previous post, I like the OLED screen but I don't need the touch part. To me, Jobs was right. When I sit and work all day, my hands are still on the keyboard and trackpad. Sometimes I can touch to drag something, but using it for a long time is really tiring. Unlike Pencil or iPad mini, here I have not seen a need that is big enough for Apple to go against his words.

Some cases I did not include

There are a few cases that you guys often mention but I left them out. As for Flash, Apple still doesn't allow Flash on the iPhone, so there's nothing wrong. As for applications, in 2007 Jobs said making a web app was enough, but in 2008 he opened the App Store, meaning he changed his mind, not Apple later. In early 2008, he told the New York Times that Kindle would go nowhere because people no longer read books. The same thing happened when Apple released iBooks and iPad in 2010 while he was still there.

Times change, or has Apple lost its way?

Putting it all together, I think it's mostly because of changing times. Jobs said those words in the context of that time, and he was also the one who changed his mind the fastest, criticized and then acted, like the App Store or iBooks. Pen, small device, big device, users really need it so Apple makes it reasonable.

As for the touch MacBook, I'm a bit skeptical. Not because he ever said no, but because I haven't seen it solve any big problems, it feels like it's better than the competition. What do you think, is Apple now adapting or losing quality? Comment to let me know.