IBM Simon Communicator | First Smartphone (1994)

IBM invented the first smartphone in 1992 and released for purchase in 1994 called The IBM Simon personal communicator.

The IBM Simon personal communicator was the world’s first smartphone – the bulky but rather cutely named Simon. 


It went on sale in 1994 and featured a touchscreen, email capability and a handful of built-in apps, including a calculator and a sketch pad.


The Simon fell victim to technology advancements, which saw the advent of the flip phone in the mid 1990s, the dominance of Nokia throughout the early part of the 21st century and the emergence of internet-enabled phones akin to the smartphones of today.