40 years of Apple - in pictures

From the first Apple computer, Steve Jobs leaving and returning, the iMac and the MacBook Air to the iPod, iPhone, iPad and Watch, Apple’s is a rich history

  • 1976

    The original Apple Computer, also known as the Apple I, that kicked everything off in 1976. It was designed and built by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Wozniak’s friend Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer and the Apple I was born.
    apple i computer

  • 1977

    Mark 2 of Apple’s computer - the Apple II - was a much more commercial product and came with its own case. It had a MOS Technology processor running at just 1MHz with 4KB of RAM. Today’s iPhones have processors running at 1,800 times the clock speed with 500,000 times more RAM.
    Apple II computer and Steve Jobs

  • 1983

    The Apple Lisa computer was groundbreaking, with an integrated screen, user interface and Apple’s first mouse. But at $10,000 (almost $20,000 in today’s money), the Lisa was never going to fly off the shelves.
    apple lisa and steve jobs

  • 1984

    This is what was classed as a ‘portable’ computer in 1984. The Apple IIc could be carried about, but had no battery, which meant a power socket needed to be close by (how things change but stay the same).
    apple IIc

  • 1984

    Portable Apple computers weren’t the only thing new in 1984, the first Macintosh computer was also released as the first ‘affordable’ computer with a graphical user interface selling for $2,495 at the time. The Mac was born.
    Apple Macintosh computer

  • 1985

    Following Steve Wozniak’s departure, then chief executive John Sculley attempted to push Steve Jobs out from his position as chairman of the board and head of the Macintosh division. Jobs attempted a coup d’état of his own, but when the plan was leaked Jobs resigned to start a new computer company called NeXT. Tim Berners-Lee is said to have invented the web on a NeXT computer at Cern. Jobs also funded the spin-out of Pixar, which was later sold to Disney.
    jobs' departure

  • 1991

    Apple’s first true laptop as we know them today, the PowerBook 100 (right), was designed and manufactured by Sony for Apple. It cost $2,500 at the time. For size comparison, the machine on the left is a 2012 13in retina MacBook Pro.
    Apple PowerBook 100

  • 1993

    Before the iPhone was a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye, the Newton Message pad was Apple’s first attempt at a pocket computer. It took 6.5 years to develop, had the first real handwriting recognition and coined the term ‘personal digital assistant’ or PDA. It only lasted for five years but the team that developed the software for it eventually went on to develop the first iPod operating system.
    Apple Newton MessagePad 120

  • 1994

    The first of Apple’s short-lived digital cameras before the release of the iPhone all by crushed point-and-shoot cameras, the QuickTake 100 had 1MB of storage and was built by Kodak. It was followed by the QuickTake 150, which could connect to Windows and the QuickTake 200, built by Fujifilm.
    apple quicktake 100

  • 1994

    The first PowerPC Apple computer, this one with a 66MHz processor, the Power Macintosh 6100 paved the way for a whole series of PowerPC Apple computers that were only replaced with the switch to Intel chips in mid-2000s.
    apple power macintosh 6100

  • 1997

    Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 after the company bought Jobs’ NeXT and integrated its software expertise. Jobs became CEO when then chief executive Gilbert Amelio, who had only been in the job just over a year, was ousted. Jobs phased out licensing of Mac OS, cancelled several projects including the Newton and began the company’s return to profitability with the help of Tim Cook, who joined as SVP of operations in 1998.
    steve jobs returns to apple in 1997

  • 1998

    The iMac was the computer that arguably made Apple a household name before the unveiling of the iPhone nine years later. It was Jony Ive and Steve Jobs’ baby, and was aimed at the low end, internet-enabled market complete with a 56Kb modem.
    apple imac

  • 1999

    Following the iMac the iBook was the next step for Apple aimed at the mass market. It had a number of firsts for Apple, including now standard wireless networking - Apple’s Wi-Fi-based AirPort. The iBook, iMac and PowerBook sat alongside the Power Mac desktop, immediately behind Jobs in this picture.
    steve jobs unveiling the iBook in Paris

  • 2001

    Apple dumped its legacy operating system wholesale and switched to a new incompatible version with the launch of OS X 10.0 Cheetah, which went on to form the basis of not only the current version of OS X 1o.11 El Capitan, but iOS, which runs the iPhone and iPad.
    os x

  • 2001

    The product that would completely change the face of Apple, from a computer company into a devices company, the iPod was born in 2001. It had 5GB of space, a small LCD screen and wasn’t revolutionary, but was smaller than most and was marketed well, eventually dominating the market. The first iPod was Mac-only and had a physical wheel that moved to scroll.
    ipod

  • 2006

    Apple dumped PowerPC processors for the faster, more energy efficient x86 chips from Intel in 2006. The iBook, PowerBook and Power Mac were out, replaced by the MacBook (pictured), the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro, which still form the basis for Apple’s computers today. The iMac survived with just its chips changed over in its now familiar thin, flatscreen design.
    apple macbook

  • 2007

    Following the success of the iPod, the iPhone launched Apple into a new age. It turned the company into a powerhouse, shipping with 4GB of storage, a 3.5in capacitive multi-touch screen and 620MHz Samsung processor. The iPhone took 2.5 years to develop and was arguably the start of the internet-connected, portable computing age we live in now, even if it have rivals that did things first and didn’t even support native apps for a year.
    iphone

  • 2008

    The MacBook Air was the biggest change in Apple’s laptop line for years, and invented a whole new category of computers called ‘ultrabooks’ by Intel. The first MacBook Air had a slow, tiny hard drive, slow processor and relatively poor battery life but it heralded a new era of thin and light laptops.
    MacBook Air

  • 2010

    Running with the success of the iPhone, the iPad attempted to reinvent tablet computers as finger-based mobile devices rather than full PCs. The iPad’s origins hark back to the 1993 Newton when a prototype tablet was made but never released and was conceived in its current form before the iPhone but delayed until after the release of Apple’s smartphone.
    ipad

  • 2011

    After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Apple’s founder and driving force died at the age of 56. It was a turning point for the company. Tim Cook, former head of operations and interim CEO took over as Jobs stood down six weeks before he died.
    steve jobs

  • 2014

    Apple bought Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s Beats, which made headphones and ran a music service, for $3bn in 2014. The headphones continue to be sold, but Beats Music morphed into the Apple Music subscription service, with radio station Beats One the lasting remnants of the brand.
    jimmy iovine, tim cook, dr dre, eddy cue

  • 2014

    Apple struck a deal with U2 to release the band’s latest album called Songs of Innocence for free to every user of Apple’s iTunes. The album was automatically added to users’ iPhones causing a backlash, an apology and eventually a way to remove it.
    tim cook touching fingers with Bono

  • 2015

    Apple’s first new product line since the iPad and Steve Jobs’ death, the Apple Watch quickly became the most popular smartwatch on the market outselling rivals from Samsung, LG, Sony and Pebble.
    apple watch
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