There have been many different Apple products created over the years. If you would like to learn more, you should check out our timeline of Apple products here.
It’s been nearly fifty years since the launch of the Apple brand, a move that revolutionized the tech industry as we know it. In the years since, Apple has become the dominant name in computers, cell phones, tablets, and more.
How was the dominance accomplished? How long of a road was it? The story of the tech giant is certainly an interesting one. If you follow along the timeline of apple products, you can chart their impressive rise to dominance.
Need a refresher of all the major products Apple has put out over the years? Read on and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
The Launch of Apple
Apple was officially launched out of a garage in 1976.
The inventors of the first Apple Computer, Apple I, were twenty-five. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had met five years previous through mutual friends and together they had created a new personal computer system they thought could capture the hearts and minds of consumers.
They worked for years perfecting the system and handbuilt the initial model themselves. They put an asking price of $666.66 on the model, which certainly probably kept some religious zealots away.
Ronald Wayne oversees the initial creation of the Apple company, creating the administrational infrastructure. At the end of the year, he sells his 10% of the company for a whopping $800. That’s a total that would be worth nearly $100 billion today.
The Apple II comes out shortly thereafter following a small investment from a big tech millionaire. Jobs sets the price for the new model at nearly double that of the Apple I.
Apple secures venture capital and starts moving towards the creation of the Apple III.
Internal Shake-Ups & The Macintosh
The next few years are an extremely tumultuous time in this history of Apple. The company goes public and expands. That brings on a board of advisors and investors. The company attempts to develop both the Apple III and a new model of computer, the Lisa.
IBM overtakes Apple easily, and Apple misses its shipping date on the Lisa project. Jobs is removed from the Lisa project and Wozniak takes a leave of absence from the company. Tough times!
However, it’s in 1984 that Apple gets ready to release a landmark project: the original Macintosh. The infamous George Orwell ad plays during the 1984 Superbowl and catches the attention of all.
Unfortunately, it’s immediately after that Jobs resigns from Apple following an internal power struggle. He doesn’t return to the company until 1997. In the meantime, Apple releases a number of products that don’t make a big dent in the market.
They release the PowerBook series, a precursor to the MacBook Pro, and a handheld tablet device known as the Newton. Neither is a huge success for the company, but they keep powering along.
In 1997, the company acquires neXT Computer, the company Jobs went on to found after leaving Apple. They bring him back to the company as an advisor.
Rebound & the iPod
Apple’s profits are at an all-time low as the Millenium nears its end. However, in the summer of 1998, the company releases a number of colourful all-in-one desktop computers that manage to keep the company afloat.
The iBook, a laptop version of the translucent and colourful model, is released a year later. Apple is back on track.
Steve Jobs comes aboard as CEO in 2000 officially after three years of essentially running the company under different titles. They launch the first two brick-and-mortar Apple stores in the same year. One opens in Virginia and the other in California, and they both bring in thousands of people.
In 2001, Jobs introduces two major additions to the Apple brand: the iTunes music store and the initial version of the iPod. In doing so, Jobs has officially dipped his hand in the music world and changed the way things will be forever.
The iPod mini, shuffle, and nano comes in the years to follow and completely change how consumers listen to their music on the go.
The iPhone is Launched
With the success of the iPod under their belts, Apple is already very much on top of the world. However, the greatest achievement of the company is yet to come. The iPhone is right around the corner.
Jobs introduces the iPhone in 2007 and things are never the same. Within a few years, the iPhone will be one of the biggest mass communication devices ever created, with millions and millions of sales and users.
In the years that followed, Jobs continues his streak by introducing the MacBook Pro, the iPad, and the Apple App Store. In 2011, at the end of this incredible streak, Apple surpasses ExxonMobile to become the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world.
Modern Innovations
Steve Jobs passes away the same year his company reaches the top of the world. The public mourns his loss.
The company continues to try to innovate through the rest of the decade, introducing the Apple Watch, new models of the iPhone, and the streaming service Apple Music.
Apple still remains on top of the world, though none of these new products achieves the titanic success of their previous decade. Consumers don’t bite as much for these products, and many look into how to cancel Apple Music and switch to another service like Spotify.
Who knows what the new decade will bring for Apple? Time will only tell.
A Basic Timeline of Apple Products
It’s been a crazy sequence of events since Apple first launched back in the 1970s. The above timeline of Apple products gives you a great peek at the kind of run Apple has had thus far.
