1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded the company on April 1, 1976, with the goal of selling computer kits to hobbyists, all of which were assembled by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: In June, Apple released the Apple II, the first mass-market personal computer.
Steve Jobs introduces the new Macintosh from Apple Computer Corporation in California on February 6, 1984.
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during a commercial break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled at a launch event. Its production stopped 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. Jobs returns to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took on this role in 2000.
The then CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X, and the first generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was introduced on October 23, 2001 at an event in Cupertino and could store up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple introduces the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was introduced.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness and handed over the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in October.
2014: Apple introduced the Apple Watch. The first larger iPhones were also introduced – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr. Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple has returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the company is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, with the agency demanding access to the locked phone of Syed Farook, who died in a shooting after carrying out a fatal attack with his wife in San Bernardino, California, in December. The court order was overturned on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which does away with the Home button and instead introduces a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones using only the owner’s face.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.
2018: Apple is the first company to introduce new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage their devices and spend less time on them. The move was triggered by a strongly worded letter from shareholders urging the company to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among children and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reported its first decline in sales and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook blames this in part on sharp declines in sales in China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all of its brick-and-mortar retail stores outside of China in response to the coronavirus.
2021: At a virtual online event in April, CEO Tim Cook announced Apple’s goal to become carbon neutral by Earth Day. Later that year, the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: The iPhone 14 was announced in September. New features included a new sensor to detect whether a user had been involved in a car accident, as well as an improved camera system.
2023: Apple has brought back its “Home Pod” after discontinuing the first generation. The “Home Pod” can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home because it is controlled via voice commands.
