One more thing… Apple turns 50

SINGAPORE – On April 1, 1976, Apple Inc was founded by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. Their first product – a fully assembled motherboard – was hand-soldered in the California garage of Jobs’ parents’ home.

Today, the American tech titan has a market cap of $4.79 trillion and is one of the world’s most valuable companies.

To celebrate half a century of innovation, here are the 10 products from the company’s archives that defined – and sometimes defied – the Apple people know today.

Apple I (1976) – The first computer

Apple’s first product was a fully assembled motherboard hand-built by Wozniak. Consumers had to provide their own case, power supply, keyboard and monitor to use it. Cases used to house the Apple I ranged from custom-built wooden cases to repurposed briefcases. 

The Apple I was sold for US$666.66 – a more than 30 per cent mark-up from its US$500 cost. Wozniak liked repeating numbers and was unaware of its religious connotation.

Apple III (1980) – Cooling fans are noisy

The Apple III was launched without a cooling fan or vents as Jobs reportedly wanted the machine to run quietly. Despite being built with an aluminium chassis to dissipate heat, it overheated so severely that chips would expand and pop out of their sockets.

The original Apple III was discontinued in 1984 after the launch of the Macintosh.

Macintosh 128K (1984) – The computer for the rest of us

This was the first all-in-one desktop personal computer that came with a graphical user interface, as well as a built-in screen and mouse. Before the Macintosh, using a computer required memorising commands. Now, users interacted with icons, folders and a rubbish bin, making it much more accessible. 

The first commercial introducing the Macintosh was helmed by Ridley Scott, known for directing movies such as Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982). The advertisement positioned Apple as the rebel fighting against a “Big Brother”.

The Apple Collection (1986) – More than just a tech company

In 1986, The Apple Collection, a mail-order catalogue, was released. This was Apple’s attempt at becoming a lifestyle brand and it featured more than 100 items with the rainbow Apple logo. The collection included apparel and lifestyle gear, as well as home and office accessories.

PowerBook (1991) – Leading the way 

The PowerBook was the first laptop to push the keyboard back and create room to rest one’s palms. This would become the blueprint of today’s laptops. Weighing only 2.3kg compared with the 7.3kg Macintosh Portable that preceded it, it was Apple’s first truly portable computer.

Apple Newton MessagePad (1993) – A not-so-smart assistant

The Newton MessagePad was intended to be a personal digital assistant – a computer that fit in your hand, understood your handwriting and managed your life. For example, you could write “Lunch with Bob on Friday” and it would automatically create a calendar event for Friday and link it to “Bob” in your contacts.

However, the handwriting recognition was notoriously poor and it became the subject of pop culture mockery, famously referenced in an episode of American animated sitcom The Simpsons (1989 to present).

Apple QuickTake (1994) – Say cheese

Apple released one of the first consumer digital cameras named the QuickTake. Unlike professional digital cameras of the time, which were bulky and costly, the QuickTake resembled a pair of binoculars and was designed to be a simple point-and-shoot camera. It was launched with a US$749 price tag and was able to store eight photos.

Apple Pippin (1996) – Not enough games

Created in partnership with Japanese toy manufacturer Bandai, this was Apple’s attempt at providing a multimedia system for home entertainment. But the Pippin had a limited library, with only a few dozen titles, and was unable to break into the market already dominated by Sony’s PlayStation and the Nintendo 64.

The Pippin project was cancelled by Jobs upon his return to Apple in 1997.

iPod (2001) – 1,000 songs in your pocket

Marketed with the slogan “1,000 songs in your pocket”, the iPod shifted Apple from being a computer manufacturer to a global electronics powerhouse. While it was not the first MP3 player, digital players used to be bulky or held a limited number of songs.

The iPod managed to fit an impressive memory into a compact device roughly the size of a deck of cards. It also featured a scroll wheel that allowed users to easily navigate long lists of artistes and albums with one hand.

iMac G4 (2002) – Defining the future

Often nicknamed the “iLamp” or the “sunflower”, the G4 was the first iMac to use a thin LCD monitor in place of the bulky CRT, and users were able to adjust the position of the monitor with one finger.

The computer was marketed alongside a quirky ad featuring a man interacting with the G4 at a storefront window.