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1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded the company on April 1, 1976 when they began selling computer kits to hobbyists, all of which were built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, the first PC made for the mass market.
Steve Jobs unveils the new Macintosh from Apple Computer Corporation on February 6, 1984 in California.
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. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the company.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first color Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal with Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took on the role in 2000.
Then Apple CEO Steve Jobs with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001 at an event in Cupertino and could hold up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness and handed over the title of CEO to Tim Cook. Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in October.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr. Dre launched Apple Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple 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 used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his woman. The court order was withdrawn on March 28 after the FBI said a third party could have unlocked the device.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 using only 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 is introducing new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage their devices and spend less time on them. The move stemmed from a strongly worded letter from shareholders urging the company to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among children and teens.
2019: In January, Apple reported its first drop in sales and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed the sharp drop in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple will close all of its brick-and-mortar stores outside of China in response to the coronavirus.
2021: In an online virtual event in April, CEO Tim Cook stated Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. The iPhone 13 was announced later in the year.
2022: In September, the iPhone 14 was announced. Among 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 discontinuing the first generation. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home as it is powered by voice commands.