What was the prior version of the iPhone? Genuinely curious. I've heard references to the Apple Newton, but that's about it.
Also, unless something was out by decades prior, I feel it's a bit difficult to truly know when something was "innovated" first. After all, polish takes time and customers typically only see what's released. Speaking of Apple, they've bought wireless charging patents as early as 2007, maybe earlier. But they've largely sat on them without a product (prior to the watch) as they often do, seemingly because the end product would not be at the level of polish they desire. I get less of a sense that it's a passive biding of their time to strike and start polishing, and more of a, is it possible to build it the way they want and have it be affordable (to their target market).
That may have come across stronger than intended. I didn't mean to imply that Apple doesn't innovate, just that what many would consider their largest and most well known innovations are less innovative than many believe. Even those those, are still innovative, as they always include their own advances to the state of the art when producing their new polished, iteratively leaping products. Indeed, it would be hard to successfully employ as many people as they do in the industry they are in without coming out with their own innovations.
That said, the Everything is a Remix video TeMPOraL linked in a sibling comment is good, and highlights my point of view quite nicely. Apple is good at taking mostly existing technologies and putting them together, as well as providing a high level of polish to existing combinations.
Nokia n95 and the iPaq were nominally similar in capability to an early iPhone. But the lack of "polish" and failure to deliver a solution vs. a gadget made those other devices a silly device to most people.
Also, unless something was out by decades prior, I feel it's a bit difficult to truly know when something was "innovated" first. After all, polish takes time and customers typically only see what's released. Speaking of Apple, they've bought wireless charging patents as early as 2007, maybe earlier. But they've largely sat on them without a product (prior to the watch) as they often do, seemingly because the end product would not be at the level of polish they desire. I get less of a sense that it's a passive biding of their time to strike and start polishing, and more of a, is it possible to build it the way they want and have it be affordable (to their target market).