A few weeks ago yours, mine and just about everybody’s favorite accessory/necessity celebrated a big birthday: the iPhone turned 10.
There’s no arguing that the iPhone has transformed our lives. Ten years after the first iPhone entered the market surrounded by unprecedented hype, Apple’s seemingly untouchable innovation just keeps steamrolling past barriers.
Paving the way for the era of new communications devices, iPhones have radically changed how businesses operate. Whether it is by reaching out to customers or creating new ordering systems, the advancement of smartphones is opening new pathways for those in the restaurant industry.
The iPhone has simplified how customers select a restaurant, what to eat and how to order meals. Online ordering 
closed the deal for consumers, who could now select what they want when they want. The iPhone became the ideal ordering platform, and now accounts for more than 55 percent of orders. This percentage will continue to rise as the omnipresence of mobile friendly website is quickly being replaced by apps, which allow one-to-two click orders.
Besides the ease of ordering, smartphones allow diners to track the deliveries. Many chain restaurants, such as Dominos, have designed innovative apps, while others use services like Postmates or UberEats.
Looking up reviews on a restaurant before physically visiting the location is now considered the norm. Platforms like Yelp help to guide a customer during their decision process. If an establishment has garnered multiple unfavorable reviews, it can act as a snowball effect, discouraging potential customers from dining there and restricting their chances of bringing up their rating.
With an iPhone in hand, customers can swiftly check out a restaurant’s rating or leave a review. Social media apps have also added a new element to the dining experience. Customers can often be found taking pictures or videos of their food to share with their followers. They can tag the restaurant’s location, drawing interest from those who see the post and would like to taste the dish for themselves.
Commemorating the iPhone’s tenth anniversary, Apple has announced the release of the highly-anticipated iPhone 8, further propelling its effect on the evolution of the restaurant industry. Making restaurant reviews from fellow consumers easily accessible, providing a new platform to place orders, and creating a social media buzz around restaurants are just some of the ways iPhones will be remembered as a triumph in technological advancement for businesses. Cheers!