Apple Inc.

In 2007, Apple Computer changed its name to Apple Inc., reflecting a shift from creating primarily personal computing devices to providing a full line of consumer electronics, such as the iPad and iPhone, as well as content marketplaces to support these devices. The company has enjoyed financial success because of its successful marketing and focus on developing beautifully designed, easy-to-use consumer products.

From its inception, Apple occupied a unique place among technology companies by typically both manufacturing the hardware and programming the software for its devices. This contrasted with companies such as Microsoft, which developed the Windows operating system and licensed it for use on personal computers (PCs) manufactured by other companies. Although Apple experienced difficulties in the 1990s as the result of some failed partnerships and product launches, the return of cofounder Steve Jobs in 1997 was widely credited with getting the company back on track for dramatic success.

Beginning with the redesigned iMac desktop computer in 1998, Apple went on to develop a series of popular consumer products that helped transform the nature of personal computing and media consumption. It also launched a number of highly popular services, including Apple Music, a music streaming service, and Apple Pay, a mobile payment app. In August 2018, it became the first-ever publicly traded company to be worth $1 trillion. By early 2024, despite some investment losses due largely to regulatory troubles, the company's value had reached and stayed around $3 trillion; at that point, more than 2 billion Apple products were actively in use around the world. While Apple's cultural impact, brand loyalty, and financial success were extraordinary, it also faced ongoing criticisms on a variety of issues, ranging from labor practices to data privacy.

Macintosh

Apple's series of operating systems has been generally known as Macintosh or Mac (also the name of its groundbreaking personal computer) with various designations. The original version was released in 1984 and represented an important step in the evolution of graphical user interfaces. This version, now referred to as Classic Mac OS, went through several releases through 2001.

Mac OS X, the tenth version of the Macintosh operating system, was released on March 24, 2001. It combined a stable Unix-based platform with a visually appealing user interface called Aqua. For software developers, OS X introduced the Carbon application programming interface (API) and the Xcode integrated development environment (IDE) for writing code.

OS X was a key step in making Macs a central focus of consumer computing culture. Cat-themed names for OS X releases were popular with enthusiasts and eventually became marketing devices. OS X versions progressed from Cheetah (version 10.0) and Puma (10.1) in 2001 to Jaguar (10.2) in 2002, Panther (10.3) in 2003, Tiger (10.4) in 2005, Leopard (10.5) in 2007, Snow Leopard (10.6) in 2009, Lion (10.7) in 2011, and Mountain Lion (10.8) in 2012. Beginning with Mavericks (10.9) in 2013, the company moved away from the cat-themed names to names associated with California, subsequently introducing Yosemite (10.10) in 2014 and El Capitan (10.11) in 2015. In 2016, macOS Sierra was released, representing Apple's attempt to bring some consistency to the naming of operating systems for all of its products, such as iOS and watchOS. MacOS High Sierra followed in 2017 and macOS Mojave followed in 2018. After Apple had made macOS Catalina available in 2019, subsequent years saw the release of macOS Big Sur (2020), macOS Monterey (2021), macOS Ventura (2022), and macOS Sonoma (2023). Each update has brought new features, including chat programs, customizable widgets (such as a calculator or dictionary), a file and application search, or a simple backup system.

In 2006, Apple replaced PowerPC microprocessors with Intel microprocessors in all of its computers. This shift was accompanied by name changes: the PowerMac desktop, iBook, and PowerBook laptops became the Mac Pro, MacBook (discontinued for general consumers in 2012 and revived in 2015 with a new, redesigned line featuring a Retina display), MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air, respectively, while the iMac desktop kept its name. Black MacBooks marked the first time Mac laptops were made available in black, an option that continued until 2008. In 2017, a new generation of MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air models was launched, and in 2019, the company began offering a MacBook Pro with a sixteen-inch screen as well as an improved keyboard and even more powerful processors. Apple continued to develop new MacBook products into the 2020s, including a new model of the MacBook Pro that incorporated the new Apple M1 system on a chip.

The iMac desktop computer evolved from its signature egg shape to a more modern monitor-based appearance, including a transition from colored plastic to white plastic and then aluminum. The iMac was designed by Jonathan Ive, whose aesthetic played a leading role in distinguishing the company. Like the laptop line, Apple's desktop computers received periodic redesigns, though some consumers claimed they were given less precedence than mobile devices through much of the 2010s and into the 2020s.

Thanks in part to Ive, Mac computers were generally perceived as aesthetically appealing as well as easy to use, and were popular choices for purposes such as graphic design. Critics alleged limited processing power for resource-intensive activities, particularly games; bemoaned Apple’s tight control over all components of the hardware and software; and found the computers overpriced—even though some direct comparisons found Apple computers to be faster and less expensive than PCs.

Apple offered a set of email, web publishing, and remote storage services first named iTools (2000 to 2002), then .Mac (pronounced "dot Mac"; 2002 to 2008), and then MobileMe (2008 to 2012). These services were in a sense a precursor to consumer-friendly cloud computing services (and would eventually be succeeded by Apple’s own iCloud offering in 2012).

iPod

The iPod, a portable media player, was released in 2001. The first iteration of the device held just 5 gigabytes (GB) of music, or one thousand songs (later versions would hold up to 64 GB, or fifteen thousand songs). Competitors included the Windows-compatible Creative ZEN and Diamond Rio media players, the Sony Walkman, and (later) the Microsoft Zune, but a unique design, aggressive marketing, and unmatched content availability helped the iPod achieve more than 70-percent market share by 2013. (The popularity of the device would later be overtaken by the iPhone and iPad).

The iPod evolved rapidly, with many new iterations: the iPod photo, which could display images; the iPod Mini (later iPod Nano) and iPod Shuffle, smaller versions of the iPod available in multiple colors; and the iPod Touch, a wireless-enabled touchscreen device. Beginning with fifth-generation (late 2005) iPods and third-generation (2007) iPod Nanos, the devices supported video content. The seventh-generation Nano was released in 2012 and the sixth-generation Touch was released in 2015. The iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle were discontinued in 2017. Despite the decreasing popularity of the iPod as a separate device, Apple released the seventh iteration of the iPod Touch in 2019, emphasizing its usability for additional purposes such as playing games

Launched in 2003, the iTunes Store created a marketplace for consumers to legally purchase music online and transfer it to an iPod or other media player. Files were initially available in advanced audio coding (AAC) format and used digital rights management (DRM) restrictions to prevent distribution of copyrighted content, although DRM-free content would become available in 2007 and DRM would be eliminated from music files by 2009. Single songs were typically sold for $0.99 and full albums for $9.99. A version of iTunes for Windows was also released in 2003 to help Windows users enjoy iTunes Store offerings.

BMG, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal, and Warner supplied the initial content; independent and other major labels later joined. Due to international laws and consumer preferences, each country has its own iTunes Store, typically with a different selection of content. The first international iTunes Stores (for the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) launched in June 2004, and 119 countries had stores by the end of 2012. In addition to purchased content, the iTunes Store offered free subscriptions to user-submitted audio or video podcast recordings.

The American iTunes Store went on to sell audiobooks (through a partnership with Audible.com), video content in 2005, and games in 2006. Apple TV, a device for streaming media content from the iTunes Store and other sources such as Netflix and YouTube to a traditional television, was released in March 2007; the fourth generation was released in 2015. In 2012, iTunes U made educational content from major institutions available through the iTunes Store.

The iTunes Store was a hit with consumers, selling more than one million songs in its first five days, seventy million songs in its first year, and 35 billion songs by 2014. The store also boosted iPod sales: while fewer than four hundred thousand devices were sold in 2001, that number rose to twenty million iPods worldwide in 2005, and more than fifty million were sold per year from 2007 to 2010, at which time the iPhone surpassed the iPod in popularity. In 2019, with the release of macOS Catalina, the format of iTunes changed as it no longer stood as its own app and its functions and libraries were divided between apps for music, television, and podcasts. Because of the integration of music across devices and continued decreased sales, the company officially discontinued its iPod line in 2022.

iPhone and Siri

The iPhone, a revolutionary touchscreen smartphone, was released in 2007. The day after the initial announcement, Apple stock hit a then-record high of $97.80 per share, a preview of later peaks that reached $700 in 2012 (the stock was split in 2014). Before the introduction of the iPhone, smartphone penetration seemed largely relegated to the corporate market, with more than 80 percent of the market using Blackberry, Windows, and Palm devices in 2006. After the introduction of the iPhone, general smartphone adoption grew more quickly, reaching nearly 60 percent in 2014 (from 8 percent in 2007). By 2015, the iPhone represented 40 percent of the market share for smartphones. By 2024 the company had come to control 85 percent of the global smartphone market.

A sleek style and aluminum casing made the iPhone visually distinctive. Initially available with 4 GB or 8 GB of storage, later versions would run to 16 GB and even 64 GB. Subsequent iterations were the iPhone 3G (2008), followed by the 3GS (2009); the 4 (2010) and 4S (2011); the 5 (2012), 5C (2013), and 5S (2013); the 6 and 6 Plus (both 2014); the 6S and 6S Plus (2015); the SE (2016); the 7 and 7 Plus (2016); and the 8, 8 Plus, and X (2017). The iPhone X, released in November 2017, was named to mark the tenth anniversary of the first iPhone. After the iPhone XR was released in 2018, the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max became available in 2019. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini were subsequently released in 2020. The company continued to launch new iPhone products throughout the 2020s, including the iPhone 16, released in September 2024.

The iPhone uses the iOS platform, a version of the core Mac OS X operating system. The iPhone interface features icons that open up different applications such as messaging, calendar, email, camera, photos, video, maps, music, and weather. The iPhone did not support Adobe Flash videos, a conscious decision made by Apple to promote the development of mobile-friendly HTML5 video solutions. Apple was one of the first smartphone vendors to popularize the "pinch-to-zoom" gesture.

The iPhone has been marketed as a user-friendly way to access the internet and all types of media, and the iOS platform made it possible to do so in unprecedented ways. Just as anyone could record and submit a podcast for free distribution through the iTunes Store, anyone could develop and submit an iPhone application for inclusion in the App Store. Apple’s success with the iPhone was, in part, because the device was more a computer than a phone, and it changed consumer expectations regarding how they interacted with the web. However, after several generations of the phone criticism grew that Apple was resting on its laurels and that competitors' devices were offering more features and lower prices. Some observers raised concerns with planned obsolescence as well.

Starting in 2011, the iPhone also came with Siri, a voice-activated digital assistant that could handle basic commands such as scheduling, checking information, and performing other tasks. While Apple updated Siri periodically between 2011 and 2024 with minor tweaks and improvements, no major overhauls were done during that time. However, in 2024, as generative artificial intelligence (AI) grew more advanced and attracted the interest of more companies in the tech industry as well as ordinary consumers, Apple announced plans to drastically modify Siri in order to incorporate AI and give Siri more capabilities, such as live-chatting with users and coming up with its own responses. The company also announced that future iPhone models would have more memory capacity in order to better accomodate this updated version of Siri. This overhaul of Siri came amid a wider effort by Apple to expand its research and development into AI technologies.

iPad

The iPad, Apple's version of the tablet computer, was initially released in 2010. With a touch screen, the iPad allows users to browse the internet, take photographs and video, and engage in myriad other activities, with hundreds of thousands of apps available for download. While generally considered less groundbreaking than the iPhone, the iPad proved to be another popular success for Apple, selling hundreds of millions of units and helping to bring tablet computers into the mainstream. The first iPad featured a 9.7-inch screen. Apple has released several generations of the iPad. The updated line that debuted in 2012 featured storage capacities ranging from 16 to 128 GB, with 1080p high-definition photo and video cameras. The seventh generation of the basic iPad model, released in 2019, included a 10.2-inch screen. The eighth generation of the iPad was released in 2020.

A smaller version of the iPad, the iPad Mini, was also released in 2012, with a second generation out the following year, a third generation released in 2014, a fourth generation produced in 2015, and a fifth generation available in 2019. The device has all of the features of the larger version, but in a 7.9-inch display screen. Additionally, in 2013, the iPad Air hit the market, boasting a Retina display and a thinner but more powerful design; a second version was subsequently released the following year while a third generation was available in 2019 and a fourth became available in 2020. A 12.9-inch iPad Pro, with more powerful specifications than the base models, was announced in 2015, and a smaller version with the traditional 9.7-inch screen was released in 2016. The second-generation iPad Pro was launched in 2017, with the smaller version increasing to a 10.5-inch screen; the third generation, released in 2018, increased the screen size to 11 inches, while the fourth generation was released in 2020. New iPad products continued to come out throughout the early 2020s; for example, 2022 saw the release of new iterations of the iPad Air, iPad Pro, and standard iPad.

Apple Watch

In 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple would be releasing its first iteration of a wearable technological device, the Apple Watch. With a focus on blending convenient access to customizable applications and information with the promotion of daily activity and health monitoring, the Apple Watch allows users to sync to their iPhones to read e-mails, answer calls, and send messages while also using GPS, heart-rate monitor, and accelerometer functions to manage physical activity. The original version came in several different faces and band combinations. In 2016, a second generation was released that included Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2. The Apple Watch Series 3 followed in September 2017 and introduced LTE cellular connectivity. The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth series of the Apple Watch were released in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, respectively.

Retail Stores and Events

The first retail Apple Stores opened in 2001, creating another channel for Apple to attract customers. The retail stores are typically located in malls or areas with heavy foot traffic. Apple products prominently displayed at the front of the stores allow consumers to conduct hands-on trials. Apple exercises careful control over the layout and appearance of each store.

To further the image of Apple as a consumer-friendly company, Apple Stores feature Genius Bars—tables staffed with dedicated technical support. Consumers can drop in unscheduled to receive free support and repairs for Apple products under warranty. Apple Stores also host classes to help consumers learn to use their new Apple products. This customer-focused, brand-driven approach was initially distinctive in a world where computer support had often been provided by independent vendors, not necessarily the computer manufacturers themselves. In 2006, Apple Stores phased out traditional point-of-sale cash registers in favor of small mobile payment devices carried by staff members, increasing the high-tech feel of being in an Apple Store. iPads were used for transactions.

The stores have been widely credited for building a base of popular support for Apple products, and have also been financially successful. When new stores open or new Apple products are released, many consumers wait in long lines to be the first to enter or get the product. The popularity of product launches echoed the popularity of events such as Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) and Macworld Expo, where major product announcements and releases often take place. Jobs was particularly known for his understated but emotional presentation style at such events, as well as for his tendency to wear denim pants and black turtlenecks. (Cook took over for Jobs as CEO in August 2011; Jobs died in October of that year.)

The Apple Store concept was emulated by other companies, including Sony and Microsoft, which opened stores with similar visual details such as glass storefronts, long tables displaying products, and enthusiastic employees in colorful T-shirts.

Criticism and Lawsuits

The company enjoys a high level of brand loyalty. Some have posited the existence of a "Cult of Mac," consisting of devoted Apple users who are unreceptive to criticism of the company, avidly follow company news, and typically buy the latest products. The concept reveals how deeply popular and sometimes divisive Apple products can be.

Still, significant criticism has been leveled at Apple, including complaints about tight controls over application programming (specifically restrictions on the use of Adobe Flash) and unexplained app rejections; reports of labor abuses by Apple suppliers, particularly in China; and allegations of monopolizing content distribution. A tightly controlled and somewhat secretive company, Apple rarely responds directly to criticism, but it did launch an investigation of working conditions at suppliers and began publishing annual labor reports in 2008. By the 2020s executives at some other tech companies, including Meta and Twitter, had begun to criticize Apple's dominance of mobile app distribution due to its ownership of the App Store, which all iPhone users relied on to download apps for their phones. Apple has also been criticized for environmentally unfriendly practices related to the manufacture of its hardware.

Apple has also been involved in several lawsuits, primarily regarding technology patents. The company has also pressured or sued several websites, including Think Secret, regarding the release of private product information or unauthorized product instructions. Think Secret shut down in 2008. It has also faced lawsuits over issues related to user privacy, including a November 2022 class-action lawsuit that alleged that the company continued tracking user data even after these users had activated anti-tracking features on their devices.

As one of the major technology companies, Apple additionally faced antitrust reviews and legal challenges. The federal Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a lawsuit, in conjunction with sixteen state and district attorneys general, in March 2024 that accused Apple of monopolization of the smartphone market that had resulted in the weakening of competition and innovation in the area. At the same time, the European Union (EU), citing potential violations of its new Digital Markets Act, began an investigation targeting Apple as well as Meta and Alphabet, the parent company of search engine Google.

Impact

Apple’s emphasis on design and the customer experience has made it a standout consumer electronics company throughout the world. Its cutting-edge devices and online marketplaces for music, apps, and other content transformed the way that consumers interact with media and the internet, highlighting the importance of innovation in the technology sector. Its design strategies and business practices crucially influenced not only other companies but culture in general. Its historic financial success and market domination also had a significant effect on the global economy, ushering in an era of unprecedented corporate value.

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