One thing Apple was good at is not releasing a product until the technology to make it good exists.

There have been rumors of an iPhone way before release, even the name was obvious to everyone (after the iPod and the iMac), and Apple probably had a prototype with a stylus and a plastic screen. However they didn't release it until capacitive screen were ready for consumer electronics.

That's why Apple is often seen not as the company that makes a certain product category popular: because they wait until all the pieces are in places when other companies will release earlier with whatever tech is available at the time.