Apple Inc, (AAPL) was formerly known as Apple Computer Inc. Based in the U.S.A and with branches across the world, the company specializes in manufacturing and designing different software solutions and electronic products. The most known hardware products produced by Apple Inc are iPhone, iPod, and Macintosh. Whereas the software solutions are, iTunes media browser, the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software, Mac OS X operating system, iWork suite of productivity software, Final Cut Studio, film industry software, and professional audio software. Apple has an online store and iTunes Store where individual customers can purchase a product, and it also has retail stores across the world.
It was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976. The first name of the company was “Apple Computer, Inc” and it was maintained for the first 30 years but on January 9, 2007, the word “Computer” was dropped to reflect its focus on the consumer electronics market. The company adopted a philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design and distinctive advertising campaigns. This philosophy has enabled Apple Inc to gain a unique reputation in the electronics industry. It has a customer base devoted to its brand mainly in the U.S.A.
Following shows the timeline in years:
1976-1980: Early years.
The company is established by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. The aim was to merchandise Apple 1 built by Wozniak. In 1976 it was sold at US$666.66. By 1977 the company was incorporated in absence of Wayne because he had sold his shares to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Mike Markkula provided further funding during this period of incorporation. In 1977 Apple II was released at West Coast Computer Faire. Its major rivals were TRS-80 and Commodore PET. It was the desktop platform for the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. VisiCalc increased sales as home users were able to use Apple II for office work.
In May 1980 Apple III succeeded Apple II and by this time the number of computer designers working for the company had grown tremendously.
1981-1985: Macintosh and Lisa.
Due to infighting Steve Jobs stopped working on Apple Lisa in 1982 and focused on Jef Raskin’s project, the Macintosh. Apple Lisa was the first PC sold to the public with a GUI in 1983. It has shortcomings in that the price tag was too high and it had limited software titles. The Macintosh was released in 1984 and sold well but follow-up sales were not good. The following desktop publishing package was introduced; LaserWriter, laser printer, and PageMaker. Due to struggles between Jobs and John Sculler in 1985, Jobs decided to resign from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. The growth of Apple in the 1980s was contributed by the introduction of the programming language LOGO, which was in California schools with Apple II.
1986-1993: Rise and fall.
In 1989 the Macintosh portable was released. It was received well but had shortcomings due to limited battery life and its bulk. The PowerBook was released in 1991 and it had an ergonomic layout. System 7 operating system was also released in the same year. The Macintosh LC was released in 1990 and by 1993 it stopped selling Apple Ile. Apple’s reputation was damaged because of product flops and not meeting deadlines and as a result of this Michael Spindle replaced Sculley as the CEO.
2011-present: Post-Jobs era
In 2011 Steve Jobs died, and Phil Schiller introduced iBook Author for Mac OS X and iBook Textbooks for iOS. Between 2011 and 2012, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 with improved cameras were released. The releases sold widely very well. The company purchased C3 Technologies and it also acquired Anobit. In 2021 Apple’s stock rose to $624 billion. There was an intellectual property lawsuit between Apple and Samsung. The company also had an agreement to settle lawsuits between Apple and HTC and they had a license agreement of 10 years for patent between both companies.
