Smartphones became popular primarily starting around 2007 with the launch of the first Apple iPhone, which combined a music player, internet capabilities, and a touchscreen phone into one device. Before this, there were earlier smartphones like the IBM Simon in 1994 and BlackBerry phones in the late 1990s, but they had more limited popularity and usage. The iPhone's introduction made smartphones widely accessible and desirable to the general public, marking the start of their mainstream popularity.