iPhone models and hardware

The iPhone is among the most popular smartphones on the market. Apple released the first-generation iPhone in June 2007. Since the first release, the iPhone became extremely popular due to its many groundbreaking features and usability. The introduction of the iPhone has since redefined the entire world of mobile computing. Consumers have started looking for faster and more efficient phones. Various iPhone models now exist, with different features and storage capabilities to serve consumer requirements.

The iPhones released since the third edition of Practical Mobile Forensics—the iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, 11, and 11 Pro—can be challenging when it comes to dealing with filesystem forensic acquisition methods. Just like the devices released since the iPhone 5, there is no method or tool available to physically recover data from these devices, unless they are jailbroken. However, logical acquisition can be obtained if the iPhone is unlocked. Acquisition methods for data extraction are available and will be discussed in Chapter 3, Data Acquisition from iOS Devices, and Chapter 4, Data Acquisition from iOS Backups. Now, let's learn how to identify the correct hardware model.