After a bootleg recording of the song gained hype and attention from fans over social media, she said in January 2020 that she would prefer to release it with an additional verse from rapper Lil Uzi Vert.

[6][7] After the success of the single "Ringtone (remix)", a collaboration between Dylan Brady and Rico Nasty among several other artists in February 2020, there was an increased demand from fans online to release "iPhone".

[8] Rico Nasty officially released the song on August 13, alongside a formal announcement of her debut studio album, Nightmare Vacation (2020).

"[15] John Ochoa of The Recording Academy wrote that "the song is an adrenaline rush of distorted hyperpop paired with Rico's washed-out, razor-sharp rhymes.

"[21] Lawrence Burney of The Washington Post wrote that the video's "digital animation allow[s] Rico to take various shapes" including "a Sims-like avatar, then a social media-filtered version of herself, then a blob of pixels trying to escape a television screen.