1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1, 1976 when they began selling computer equipment to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
Steve Jobs introduces the new Apple Computer Corporation Macintosh on February 6, 1984 in California.
1981: Jobs became president.
1984: The Macintosh was unveiled during a Super Bowl commercial break and then officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later, and Jobs left the company.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first color Mac.
1997: Apple announces that it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that sees Jobs return to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took over the role in 2000.
Apple’s then CEO Steve Jobs with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was launched on October 23, 2001 at an event in Cupertino and could store up to 1000 songs.
2007: Apple introduces the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was introduced.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing over the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October of pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple introduced the Apple Watch. It also introduced its first larger iPhones: the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After buying Dr Dre’s Beats, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple went back to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who was killed in a shooting after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California, with his wife. The court order was withdrawn on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.
2018: In a company first, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was sparked by a strongly worded shareholder letter urging the company to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among children and teens.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first drop in revenue and profit in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed sharp declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its physical stores outside of China in response to the coronavirus.
2021: In a virtual online event in April, CEO Tim Cook declared Apple’s goal to become carbon neutral by Earth Day. Later in the year the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car accident, as well as an improved camera system.
2023: So far this year, Apple has brought back its ‘Home Pod’ after the first generation was discontinued. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home, as it works with voice commands.
