Apple Inc. is an American tech company that specializes in consumer electronics, software as well as other online services. It is the largest information technology company and the world’s most valuable organization. Their revenue in 2021 was around US$365.8 billion dollars. It is the world’s 4th largest computer vendor and 2nd largest mobile phone manufacturer. With overwhelming popularity and profit turnover, Apple is among the Big Five information technology company, along with Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta (previously known as Facebook).

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Apple Inc History

Apple Inc. was initially founded as Apple Computer Company on 1 April 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
The main goal was to develop and sell Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer. It was later incorporated by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977. The company’s next computer, the Apple II, which came out in the same year, became a best seller.
Apple went successfully public in 1980 and went on to develop new computers featuring their revolutionary and innovative graphical user interfaces, including the original Macintosh.
But in1985, internal strife caused by high production costs and power struggles led to Steve Wozniak’s step back from Apple voluntarily.
While Steve Jobs chose to resign and founded the brand NeXT after taking some Apple employees along with him.
Starting from the 1990s, Apple faced competition from the more affordable Microsoft Windows Operating System on the Intel-powered PC clones.
This duopoly was dubbed the “Wintel.” To counter their impending bankruptcy, Apple bought NeXt and brought Jobs back into the fold. Since then, Jobs has been successful in bringing Apple back to profitability through various smart and innovative moves.
The introduction of MacIntosh and iPhone cemented Apple’s position as a leading brand. Jobs had continued to market all of their services and had successfully acquired other small companies till his amicable parting from the brand in 2011.
Sadly, he had passed away months after his resignation from Apple. But Apple has continued to flourish under the new leadership of Tim Cook.

Apple Products

Macintosh

Macintosh, mostly known as the Mac, is a line of personal computers from Apple that uses the company’s macOS operating system. Apple had started in the personal computers business first. But in the year 2021, they only accounted for about 10% of the company’s total revenue.

Since 2020, Apple has been in the process of switching Mac computers from Intel processors to Apple silicon, a custom-designed system on a chip platform. This will help the company is focusing on boosting performance and vertical integration across platforms.
Till 2021, there are six Macintosh computer families existing in the Apple ecosystem, starting from iMac in 1998 and the latest being Mac Studio in 2022.
Apple also produces a variety of accessories for Macs, including the Pro Display XDR, Apple Studio Display, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard.
The company develops several pieces of software included in the total purchase price of a MacIntosh, such as the Safari web browser, the iMovie video editor, the GarageBand audio editor, and lastly, the iWork productivity suite.

Apple also sells several professional software applications such as the Final Cut Pro video editor, Motion for video animations, the Logic Pro audio editor, Mainstage for live audio production, and Compressor for media compression and encoding.

iPhone

iPhone is the most popular Apple product out there. It is almost synonymous with the company at this point. iPhone is Apple’s line of smartphones that uses the company’s very own iOS operating system, derived from the macOS. IOS is one of the most popular smartphone platforms along with android. The first-generation iPhone was announced on January 9, 2007, by Steve Jobs. Since then, Apple has released new iPhone models and iOS updates every year.

The iPhone revolutionized the cell phone industry during its time of conception. This is because of its user interface built around a multi-touch screen, which was a huge advancement in 2007. The cell phone and app industry have largely benefited from the iPhone devices. This device is also a leading factor in the popularization of the “app economy.”

The iPhone continues to generate huge profits for the company and is credited with helping Apple in becoming one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. Unlike Mac, iPhone accounts for more than half of the company’s annual revenue till 2021.

As of September 2022, 34 iPhone models have been produced, with five smartphone families in production, with the latest being iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone SE (third generation).

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iPad

The iPad is Apple’s line of tablet computers that uses Apple’s own iPadOS operating system, derived from both macOS and iOS. On January 27, 2010, the first-generation iPad was announced to the public.

The iPad basically adapted the multi-touch user interface that was first used in the iPhone and adjusted the technology for a larger screen area, marked for interaction with multimedia formats including photos, videos, music, documents, books, video games, and most of the iPhone apps. The earlier generations of the iPad used to have the same iOS operating system as iPhones before splitting up in 2019.

The iPad is the most popular tablet computer by sales to date and accounted for 9% of the company’s revenue as of the end of 2021. As of January 2022, there are four iPad families in production, with the latest being the iPad Air (5th generation).

Miscellaneous Products

Apple also produces several other products that it categorizes as “Wearables, Home, and Accessories.” These include the AirPods (wireless headphones), Apple TV and other digital services, Apple Watch smartwatches, Beats headphones, HomePod Mini smart speakers, Apple Pay, Apple Books, iTunes stores, and the iPod touch, the last remaining device in Apple’s successful line of iPod portable media players.

Till the end of 2021, this range of products and services together accounted for about 30% of the company’s revenues.

Interesting Facts about Apple You Didn’t Know

Now that we have a general idea of what the brand Apple stands for and the history associated with it, you will surely be more invested in knowing more about Apple. To make this easy for you, we have a list of interesting facts about Apple that we bet you didn’t know.

The first Apple logo was not the half-bitten Apple:

To most of us, the first and most memorable Apple logo is the Rainbow Apple or the new (since 1999) Monochromatic Apple. Apple is almost synonymous with the half-bitten Apple created by Rob Janoff. But that was only in 1977. Before that, the logo was of Sir Isaac Newton sitting under a tree while an apple was almost ready to hit his head (a nod to the legendary gravity tale).

Jobs and Wozniak Selling their personal items to raise funds:

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had sold their Volkswagen and an expensive HP scientific calculator, respectively, in order to raise the capital needed to buy parts for the Apple I.

The Apple I was priced at $666.66:

I am sure there was no satanic joke on Apple’s part, but the Apple I really did cost $666.66. Wozniak, the creator of Apple I, had joked that he was just into repeated numbers, hence the price. Regardless, it was actually a pretty high price at that time.

The No Smoking Clause about iPhones:

All iPhones have a no-smoking clause. It means that if you smoke in front of your iPhone device, your warranty immediately becomes invalid.

The Appleseed input:

The John Appleseed story is familiar to most Americans. It was the name of an 18-century nurseryman who had planted apple trees across America. But did you know that John Appleseed is imagery that is used by both the iPhone and the Mac? It is believed that Appleseed is used as a famous marketing technique because former CEO Mike Markkula used it as a pseudonym while he was writing programs for Apple II.

Apple marketed the first Colour digital camera:

The Apple QuickTake was first launched in 1994. It was the first “consumer Digital Camera” accessible to the people. Unfortunately, it was discontinued after a three-year stint.

2001: A Space Odyssey inspired the naming of iPod:

The iPod was named after Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Copyeditor Vinnie Chieco was reminded of the extra-vehicular activity pod from the film during an Apple meeting, and that is how the name iPod came into being.

The Easter Egg in the first iPod:

To make things more exciting, the first iPod holds an easter egg. Nick Triano describes the easter egg as the following, “Go to the ‘About’ menu, hold down the center button for about three seconds, and you’ll get a Breakout (Pong) game to play while you listen.” This game was a reference to a work Jobs, and Wozniak worked at Atari.

Wrapping Up

Apple’s establishment as one of the most profitable brands in the world is associated with its game-changing development in the informational technology industry just like in the escape room. They have also been successful in keeping up with the demands of the time. It is no wonder that they have found themselves with a large number of customers loyal to the brand- Apple.