iPhone Was A ‘Bet The Company’ Product, Says Phil Schiller

During the ongoing patents infringement retrial with Samsung, Apple’s head of marketing Phil Schiller stated in the court that the iPhone was a “bet the company” product, and that nowadays, “almost everyone” at Apple works on the device (via CNET). On taking the stand, Schiller introduced himself and talked briefly about his role at Apple, the development of the iPhone, and the event introducing the product.

Apple executive also noted the company started working on the iPhone after it had already started iPad development. He added that in the beginning, about 100 people worked on the iPhone but now, “almost everyone” at the company works on it in some way.

Schiller took the stand in a damages retrial against Samsung with only 11 minutes left in the session. “There were huge risks [with the first iPhone],” he said. “We had a saying inside the company that it was a ‘bet the company’ product…We were starting to do well again in iPod…Then here we’re going to invest all these resources, financial as well as people, in creating this product.”

Apple now claims a $380 million amount based on lost profits of about $114 million, Samsung’s profits of about $231 million, and royalties of approximately $35 million, estimating that it would have sold 360,000 devices if Samsung hadn’t released infringing rivals. Samsung meanwhile said that Apple shouldn’t receive any money for lost profits, $52.7 million for Samsung’s profits, and royalties of only $28,452 because the patents have limitations.