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Figured we should have a thread dedicated to Apple's 50th birthday.
You know the history: Jobs and Woz founded the company on April 1st, 1976. Apple had a wild hit with the Apple II, and took a big gamble on the Mac in 1984 (it sold poorly at first, but defined PCs for decades). It had a dark decade after Jobs' ouster with a confused lineup and outdated software. Jobs came back, saved the company with the iMac, and had one of the greatest product runs in tech history (iPod, iPhone, iPad, key Mac models, iTunes). Tim Cook stepped in just before Jobs' death and ushered in a "safer" era with some missteps, but also some big wins like the Apple Watch, AirPods, and the huge services push.
You don't have to like Apple's products and practices, but I don't think there's any doubt that it has defined much of the tech industry for the past 50 years. The Mac made computers far more accessible and defined the GUI. The iPod made MP3 players relevant and cool. The iPhone made smartphones viable for more than just suits and enthusiasts; the iPad did more to advance tablets in one year than Microsoft did in a decade. There were multiple instances where Apple either forced competitors to change course... or started them on downward spirals. Google was originally crafting Android as a BlackBerry rival; it went touch in direct response to the iPhone.
Apple also taught the industry a few lessons, most notably: design matters. It's not just about specs. It's about how it feels, how easy it is to use, and of course how it looks. We've seen the movie play out numerous times: Apple intros a product whose specs don't set the world on fire, hardcore techies complain... but real, everyday people buy it in droves because it solves design problems other brands have ignored for years. The MacBook Neo applies that philosophy to budget laptops, and it's amusing to see people rail against it (sometimes fairly, sometimes not) even as it remains sold out a month after pre-orders began.
You know the history: Jobs and Woz founded the company on April 1st, 1976. Apple had a wild hit with the Apple II, and took a big gamble on the Mac in 1984 (it sold poorly at first, but defined PCs for decades). It had a dark decade after Jobs' ouster with a confused lineup and outdated software. Jobs came back, saved the company with the iMac, and had one of the greatest product runs in tech history (iPod, iPhone, iPad, key Mac models, iTunes). Tim Cook stepped in just before Jobs' death and ushered in a "safer" era with some missteps, but also some big wins like the Apple Watch, AirPods, and the huge services push.
You don't have to like Apple's products and practices, but I don't think there's any doubt that it has defined much of the tech industry for the past 50 years. The Mac made computers far more accessible and defined the GUI. The iPod made MP3 players relevant and cool. The iPhone made smartphones viable for more than just suits and enthusiasts; the iPad did more to advance tablets in one year than Microsoft did in a decade. There were multiple instances where Apple either forced competitors to change course... or started them on downward spirals. Google was originally crafting Android as a BlackBerry rival; it went touch in direct response to the iPhone.
Apple also taught the industry a few lessons, most notably: design matters. It's not just about specs. It's about how it feels, how easy it is to use, and of course how it looks. We've seen the movie play out numerous times: Apple intros a product whose specs don't set the world on fire, hardcore techies complain... but real, everyday people buy it in droves because it solves design problems other brands have ignored for years. The MacBook Neo applies that philosophy to budget laptops, and it's amusing to see people rail against it (sometimes fairly, sometimes not) even as it remains sold out a month after pre-orders began.