Apple turns 40: From failed Macintosh to 1bn devices in use

Apple celebrates its 40th birthday today having risen from a three-man project in a California garage to the most valuable company in the world, estimated to be worth over $700bn (€615bn).

Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1, 1976, as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was hand-built by Wozniak.

Today the company has more than 480 retail stores in 18 countries worldwide and reported income of over $18bn (€15.8bn) for the first quarter of this year.

The company says there are now more than 1bn active Apple devices being used around the world.

Chief executive Tim Cook described the figure as one “no one could have imagined”, adding that it was an “indicator of how much impact Apple has on people around the world”.

The company’s journey to the summit of the technology industry has been a rocky one, having seen Jobs leave the firm in the mid-1980s after his pet project, the first Macintosh computer, struggled and he attempted to oust then-chief executive John Sculley.

He returned in 1997 when the company was in financial crisis and launched the iMac the following year, the first of a string of hardware products that also includes the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, as well as the iTunes Store that cemented Apple’s place as an industry leader, before his death from cancer in 2011.

Since then the firm has launched its first wearable, the Apple Watch, and continued to see an increase in sales in its MacBook line of computers despite a global drop in PC sales. The Apple Music streaming service was launched in 2015, gaining more than 10m paying users since then.

Apple has recently been at the centre of a battle with the US government and intelligence agencies over data encryption, with the technology firm refusing to help the FBI unlock an iPhone belonging to a terror suspect, claiming it violated user privacy and the process would make all iPhones more vulnerable.

The firm received backing from the wider tech community before the FBI gained third party help to access the phone and ended court proceedings.

The company’s 40th birthday is being marked by the launch of the iPhone SE and new smaller iPad Pro, with the smartphone believed to be aimed at emerging markets such as China and India, not traditional targets for Apple, as the next phase of the firm’s history begins.

Having stepped into the role at the top of Apple in tragic circumstances following the resignation and death of Jobs, Cook has begun to forge his own legacy at the top of the technology giant.

In 2014, Cook became the first head of a Fortune 500 company to come out as gay, has pushed to widen Apple’s green and environmental policies, and has taken on the US government and FBI in recent weeks over data encryption and user privacy.

The Alabama-born executive joined Apple in 1998 as senior vice-president of worldwide operations, where he oversaw the company’s factories and warehouses. It was in this role that Cook placed greater emphasis on flash memory components, which would become vital to Apple following the launch of the iPod Nano, iPhone, and iPad.

In 2007, Cook was promoted to lead operations and then in 2009 served as chief executive during Jobs’ first leave of absence.

From a garage to global tech giant

The 40-year history of Apple has seen some of the most crucial moments in technology and some of the biggest product launches, lifting the firm from selling computer kits hand-built in a garage to selling more than 65m iPhone 6 handsets in three months in 2014.

April 1, 1976 — Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne found Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs’ parents’ house in Los Altos, California. Less than a year later, Mr Wayne sells 10% stake for $800, a percentage that would be worth over $70bn (€61.5bn) today.

July 1976 — The company’s first product, the Apple I, is launched. It is little more than an assembled circuit board that comes without a keyboard, monitor or case and each is handmade by Wozniak and priced at $666.66.

1977 — The second-generation device, the Apple II, is launched at a computer fair. Later models are among the first devices to take advantage of the floppy disk drive as a means of storage.

1979 — During a visit to Xerox, Jobs and other Apple staff see the company’s PARC interface, which uses boxes and windows as graphics, as well as virtual folders to organise items on the screen, instead of text that had been used up to this point. Jobs immediately changes Apple’s focus to this type of look known as a graphical user interface (GUI), which is now universally used in computing.

1984 — Having been removed from the Apple Lisa (Local Integrated Software Architec-ture) team two years earlier for infighting, Jobs launches his latest Apple project — the Macintosh. An advert for the device depicting George Orwell’s world of 1984 being shattered by the arrival of the Macintosh is shown during the Super Bowl, having been directed by Ridley Scott. The campaign was the beginning of Apple’s ‘Think Different’ era that saw it take on the established market players.

1985 — After a strong start, Macintosh sales fall away, and Jobs rows with chief executive John Sculley. After Jobs reportedly plots a coup to remove him, the Apple board sides with Sculley and strips Jobs of his responsibilities. He resigns and immediately creates NeXT.

1993 — After a series of expensive product misses, the ill-fated Newton tablet launches. The device struggles and its handwriting recognition feature is even made the butt of a joke on The Simpsons. Sculley is removed as chief executive and replaced by Michael Spindler. But he is replaced by Gil Amelio in 1996, who cuts costs and staff. Amelio eventually decides to buy NeXT for its operating system, returning Jobs to Apple.

1998 — Having replaced Amelio as chief executive in July 1997, Jobs’ first major launch since his return is the iMac. The desktop computer comes in a range of colours and is the first major product to be influenced by Jony Ive. It is a sales success and begins an era of new innovation at the firm.

2001 — Attention turns to the music industry, as the first iPod is announced, which enables users to have “1,000 songs in their pocket” for the first time. It is followed by the iTunes Store in 2003, ushering in the age of digital downloads.

2007 — Moments after announcing the company was changing its name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc, Jobs reveals the company’s first smart mobile device, the iPhone.

2010 — Having returned from medical leave following cancer treatment, Jobs takes the stage again to introduce the much-rumoured iPad. Despite being initially questioned as a needless device, the tablet market soon explodes, with most of Apple’s rivals launching tablets of their own.

Jan 2011 — Jobs takes another leave of absence, this time indefinitely. Tim Cook assumes day-to-day control of Apple. Jobs reappears in June to unveil iCloud, but this would be his last appearance. He then resigns as chief executive in August.

October 5, 2011 — Jobs dies of cancer at the age of 56.

2014 — The redesigned iPhone 6 and larger 6 Plus launch, with Apple selling 10m in three days. The company also announces its first wearable — the Apple Watch.

2015 — Apple reports quarterly profits of over $18bn, breaking the global quarterly profit record for any public company. The Apple Watch goes on sale.

2016 — The FBI gains a court order to have Apple help unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the Islamic State-linked San Bernardino shooters. Apple refuses to comply on privacy grounds and is backed by tech community. The FBI then gets a third party help to unlock phone and drops the court order.