Jesus phone

English

Etymology

Humorously from its perceived desirability and goodness.

Noun

Jesus phone (plural Jesus phones)

1. (informal, humorous) The iPhone.
   • 2007 July 5, “Marketing the iPhone: Where would Jesus queue?”, in The Economist:

     The blogosphere had already christened the iPhone, an allegedly revolutionary handset made by Apple, the "Jesus phone" weeks before it went on sale.

   • 2007, Maximum PC:

     […] the Jesus Phone, or, as it's more commonly known to PC users, the iPhone.

   • 2008 November, Mac Life, volume 2, number 11:

     "Jesus Phone" is an extremely common nickname for the iPhone. Last time we Googled, there were well over 73000 uses of the phrase […]

   • 2017, Brian Merchant, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, Kindle edition, Transworld, page 372:

     When the iPhone launched in June 2007, lines snaked around Apple Stores around the world. Diehards vying to be the first to own the Jesus phone waited outside for hours, even days.