• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon

2

'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO

3

Current price of oil as of June 8, 2026

1

Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon

2

'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO

3

Current price of oil as of June 8, 2026
TechThe Mobile Executive

That Time Steve Ballmer Laughed at the iPhone

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 10, 2017, 10:45 AM ET
New LA Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer News Conference
Steve Ballmer, former chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., speaks to fans as he is introduced as the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Monday, Aug. 18, 2014. Ballmer bounded onstage at a Staples Center rally that was was attended by about 3,000 people, many wearing red We Are Clippers T-shirts. Photographer: Kevork Djansezian/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Kevork Djansezian — Bloomberg/Getty Images

Once upon a time, a Microsoft CEO thought Apple was making a big mistake on a device it called the iPhone. And then Apple laughed.

In an interview with the BBC on Monday commemorating the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, Tony Fadell, one of the early members on the iPhone development team and founder of smart home company Nest, recalled the time then-Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer laughed at the iPhone, calling it a “not very good email machine.” He also scoffed in the 2007 interview at the iPhone’s launch of a keyboard, which he thought, wouldn’t make it an attractive option for business customers, and thought its $500 starting price was too high.

According to Fadell, Apple (AAPL) heard the interview with Ballmer and everyone on the iPhone team “laughed at him.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

But Ballmer, whose iPhone evaluation has been panned for a decade, wasn’t the only target of Apple’s laughter. Fadell, whose company Nest was acquired by Google in 2014 for $3.2 billion, told the BBC that Apple also chuckled at BlackBerry (BBRY), the company that at the time had been selling popular smartphones but would ultimately succumb to the iPhone onslaught.

“We also laughed at Blackberry,” he told the BBC. “Whenever I create a new product , and I learned this with Steve [Jobs], if the incumbents laugh at you and the press laugh at you, you go, ‘we’ve hit a nerve’.”

Fadell’s comments were published on the 10th anniversary of the iPhone’s unveiling.

For more about iPhone, watch:

Apple’s first handset was made public on January 9, 2007 during late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ Macworld 2007 keynote at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Jobs obviously had a much different take on the iPhone’s future than Ballmer, calling it a “revolutionary” product during his keynote. The iPhone ultimately went on sale in June of that year. Now ten years later, more than 1 billion iPhones have been sold worldwide.

While Ballmer laughed off the iPhone’s features, he also acknowledged in the interview that the handset might ultimately sell well. He just didn’t believe that Apple’s strategy was the best one. Ballmer, though, was ultimately pushed out of Microsoft in part because of his slow response to the growing popularity of the iPhone and Android-based smartphones.

One other tidbit from the Fadell interview: he once was on a plane with an iPhone prototype and lost it. After two hours of searching, he found it lodged between seats. It was a fortuitous find: Jobs had already warned the team that anyone who let word of the iPhone slip would be fired.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

tim
CommentaryAirline industry
Merlin CTO: autonomy can rebuild the foundation of aviation — and national security
By Tim BurnsJune 9, 2026
2 hours ago
Exclusive: The startup that’s dressing up crypto for Wall Street raises $175 million in a round led by a16z crypto, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Exclusive: The startup that’s dressing up crypto for Wall Street raises $175 million in a round led by a16z crypto, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital
By Ben WeissJune 9, 2026
2 hours ago
dewar
CommentaryLeadership
I founded McKinsey’s CEO practice: Here’s why operational excellence is a liability right now
By Carolyn DewarJune 9, 2026
2 hours ago
‘We expect it to leak’: OpenAI is frontrunning the narrative around its $1 trillion IPO
AIMarkets
‘We expect it to leak’: OpenAI is frontrunning the narrative around its $1 trillion IPO
By Jim EdwardsJune 9, 2026
3 hours ago
Brian Schimpf, co-founder and CEO of Anduril Industries, speaking at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo: Stuart Isett/Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
The future of armed conflict, according to Anduril
By Andrew NuscaJune 9, 2026
3 hours ago
Photo of Sam Altman
AIOpenAI
‘We expect it to leak so we’re just announcing it’: OpenAI files confidential SEC paperwork for IPO
By The Associated PressJune 9, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon
Environment
Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon
By Sasha RogelbergJune 8, 2026
17 hours ago
'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO
Economy
'We didn’t see this coming': Wall Street eats its forecasts as stocks sell off globally on fear of AI bubble ahead of SpaceX IPO
By Jim EdwardsJune 8, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 8, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 8, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 8, 2026
1 day ago
Gen Zers are arriving at college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates
Success
Gen Zers are arriving at college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates
By Preston ForeJune 7, 2026
2 days ago
'The golden years are not golden': Boomers are hoarding most of America's wealth and power because they're terrified of outliving their money
Economy
'The golden years are not golden': Boomers are hoarding most of America's wealth and power because they're terrified of outliving their money
By Nick LichtenbergJune 7, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 8, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 8, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 8, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.