[Update 09/14/2017 03:33 PDT]
Tony Fadell supports Schiller’s statement that the claim is not true.
[Update 09/13/2017 12:48 PDT]
I respect @pschiller as a colleague & friend. The story about him is not true. Have asked writer to correct the record. https://t.co/87BkZGcHSi
— Tony Fadell (@tfadell) June 14, 2017
In a reply on Twitter, Schiller shares that he did not push for a physical keyboard on the iPhone like the excerpt suggested.
As we approach the 10 year anniversary of Apple’s mobile phone, The Verge takes readers on an early look of the iPhone’s origin story. Pulling excerpts from Brian Merchant’s upcoming book, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, The Verge shares some of the risks the company took in putting together the devices we see today.
Not true. Don’t believe everything you read…
— Philip Schiller (@pschiller) June 13, 2017
The excerpts shared today by The Verge gives readers a glimpse into what the upcoming book will contain. For die-hard origin story fans, some of the story may sound familiar.
The book is not without details on the struggles in launching this device.
Merchant also delves into Tony Fadell, the iPod’s “godfather”, and his push into bringing iTunes on a PC.
According to Fadell’s accounts, Phil Schiller wasn’t a big believer in the touchscreen direction.
Be sure to head over to The Verge to whet your iPhone origin story appetite before the book’s release. The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone by Brian Merchant will be available on June 20th, starting at $14.99 for the Kindle format.
“Steve looked at him and goes, ‘I’m sick and tired of this stuff. Can we get off of this?’ And he threw him out of the meeting,” Fadell recalls. Later, he says, “Steve and he had it out in the hallway. He was told, like, Get on the program or get the fuck out. And he ultimately caved.”
That cleared it up: the phone would be based on a touchscreen. “We all know this is the one we want to do,” Jobs said in a meeting, pointing to the touchscreen. “So let’s make it work.”
