Apple design

September 25, 2006: Apple ships its second-generation iPod nano, offering a fancy redesign of the pocket-size original.

“iPod nano is the world’s most popular digital music player, and we’ve completely redesigned it to make it even better,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a press release. “The all-new iPod nano gives music fans more of what they love in their iPods.”

Among the new iPod nano’s improvements are a slimmer, anodized aluminum casing; a brighter screen; longer battery life; and a wide range of colors. And, oh yes, it also includes gapless music playback for the first time!

The new cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro is undeniably orange. It’s not bronze, it’s not burnt umber, it’s not sepia or some other subdued shade that fades into the background.

No, Apple finally — after years of begging and pleading — produced a pro-level iPhone in an unapologetically bold color.

As a man in a loincloth once screamed while staring at something unfathomable: “Oh my god … [you] finally, really did it. You maniacs!”

To be fair, in that instance, the bare-chested man was ranting about something horrific. With the cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro, Apple did something previously unthinkable — and totally welcome.

September 19, 2014: The iPhone undergoes its biggest upgrade — both figuratively and literally — since the original, with the release date of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets. The iPhone 6 design brings a new 4.7-inch form factor, while the iPhone 6 Plus expands to a massive 5.5 inches.

The previous-generation iPhone 5 measured only slightly taller than its 3.5-inch predecessors. But with the iPhone 6, Apple abandons the small smartphone form factor to take on big-screen Android “phablets.”

September 18, 2013: iOS 7 launches with a radical redesign that divides the tech world. The biggest overhaul Apple’s mobile operating system has seen in years, iOS 7 ditches the skeuomorphic objects, dials and textures of previous iterations.

Instead, it boasts stark patches of white space, simpler icons and more abstract controls for settings. The Jony Ive era of software design is truly underway.

August 27, 1999: Apple Computer swaps out the striped, multicolored logo the company had used since 1977 for a new single-color version. The evolution of the iconic Apple logo from rainbow to monochrome shocks many longtime fans.

However, it is part of a sustained, company-wide overhaul led by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The makeover includes new products, the “Think Different” ad campaign and, eventually, the removal of the word “Computer” from the company’s name.

August 15, 1998: The original iMac — Apple’s brightly colored, translucent Macintosh relaunch — goes on sale to a rabid audience. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs‘ first major new product since returning to Cupertino, the internet-ready iMac G3 line will cement his legacy as a forward-thinking tech visionary.

The all-in-one computer also introduces the world to the design talents of Jony Ive — and pretty much saves Apple in the process.

Just another day at the office, eh?

August 13, 2002: Apple unveils the final face-lift for its Power Mac G4, the Mirrored Drive Doors model.

The distinctive-looking computer borrows visually from the previous QuickSilver G4, released a year earlier. However, it adds a different front panel, with a mirrorlike finish for the media drive doors. It’s the last visual redesign of Apple’s Power Mac G4.

July 24, 2006: The world gets its first glimpse of Apple’s new wireless Mighty Mouse, a multibutton Bluetooth device with super-accurate laser tracking.

Photos of the accessory come to light through an Apple filing with the Federal Communications Commission. Apple will launch the device the very next day.

July 17, 2002: Apple ships a new super-sized iMac G4 with a 17-inch widescreen LCD display that becomes the envy of most computer users at the time.

“The best consumer desktop just got even better,” says Apple CEO Steve Jobs of the company’s new all-in-one computer in a press release. “Having this gorgeous 17-inch flat screen floating in mid-air right in front of you is simply breathtaking. There’s nothing like it in the PC world.”

He wasn’t wrong!

July 11, 2008: The iPhone 3G goes on sale. Expectations for the smartphone sequel run high, and Apple delivers with the addition of GPS, faster 3G data and a higher-quality build. The iPhone 3G launch also brings a new mobile operating system packed with features.

Apple’s second smartphone runs iPhone OS 2, which introduces a better Mail app, turn-by-turn navigation and a little something called the App Store.

Despite their sleek designs, Apple products boast impressive durability. And now, for the first time, the company has provided a look into one of its 200 durability labs, where it rigorously torture tests its products.

Apple conducts several types of trials on its devices, including environmental, liquid, drop and vibration stress tests.

July 3, 2001: Apple suspends production of its Power Mac G4 Cube, one of the most notable busts in Apple history — and the first major flop following Steve Jobs’ glorious return to the company in 1997.

Although Apple leaves the door open to possibly reintroducing the remarkably clear G4 Cube at a later date, this never happens. The stylish computer is superseded by Apple’s upgrade to G5 processors and then to Intel Core-based Macs.

June 23, 2003: Apple launches its gorgeous Power Mac G5, a powerhouse desktop computer with a perforated aluminum chassis that earns it the affectionate nickname “the cheese grater.”

Starting at an affordable $1,999 (nearly $3,500 in today’s money, adjusted for inflation), the Power Mac G5 is the world’s first 64-bit personal computer. It’s also Apple’s fastest machine yet.

For the first time, Apple will unify software design across it various platforms with a new interface design called Liquid Glass. Inspired by visionOS, Liquid Glass is, as its name implies, a translucent and fluid new interface for iPhone, iPad, Mac and other devices in Apple’s ecosystem.

“It’s the kind of project that only comes along about once per decade,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, as he introduced Liquid Glass during Monday’s WWDC25 keynote.

In demos, conference attendees and online viewers got to see “glassy,” translucent menus, panels and icons throughout the system. The new look and feel creates a more immersive and modern visual experience.

May 8, 1997: Apple launches the PowerBook 2400c laptop, a 4.4-pound “subnotebook” that’s the MacBook Air of its day.

The PowerBook 2400c predicts the rise of speedy, lightweight notebooks, while also paying tribute to Apple’s past. Its design echoes the original PowerBook 100. Even years later, it remains a cult favorite among many Mac users.

May 6, 1998: Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveils the original iMac, a brightly colored, translucent computer that will help save the company. Coming just 10 months after Jobs’ new management team takes over, the iMac G3 loudly announces that the days of Apple quietly fading into the background are over.

The colorful computer marks the start of a very successful run for Cupertino.

March 29, 2012: Apple settles its “Antennagate” controversy by giving affected iPhone 4 owners the chance to claim a whopping $15 payout. The settlement covers customers who experienced problems with the phone dropping calls due to its cutting-edge design, but were unable to return their handsets (or didn’t want a free bumper from Apple to mitigate against the problem).

While it’s arguable whether a $15 payout was worth filing all the paperwork necessary to claim the cash, the Antennagate story — and the resulting class-action lawsuit — generated big headlines at the time.

March 20, 1997: Apple launches its Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, a futuristic, special-edition Mac that’s ahead of its time in every way. Not part of any established Mac line, it brings a look (and a price!) unlike anything else available — and Apple delivers them to buyers in a limo!

And yet the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh promptly bombs. Today, it’s a collector’s piece.

March 19, 1990: The ultra-fast Macintosh IIfx makes its debut, sporting a hefty price tag appropriate for such a speedy machine.

The fastest Macintosh of its day, it boasts a CPU running at a “wicked fast” 40 MHz. It gains an additional speed bump from a pair of Apple-designed, application-specific integrated circuits. Prices start at $9,870 and run up to $12,000 — the equivalent of $23,989 to $29,166 in 2024 money!

February 22, 2001: The iMac Special Edition, sporting wild designs that would make a hippie happy, puts a wacky face on the computer that saved Apple’s bacon at the turn of the century. The Flower Power iMac and Blue Dalmatian iMac evoke tie-dye shirts or other unconventional ’60s-era imagery.

A far cry from the super-serious, aluminum-heavy industrial design that will come to define Apple in coming years, these colorfully patterned iMacs stand out as some of the most irreverent computers Cupertino ever dreamed up. (C’mon, when was a real Dalmatian blue?)

Under the consciously tacky exteriors, a pretty darn great iMac G3 hums along.

February 20, 2004: Music goes small as the iPod mini launch brings the reimagined digital audio player to Apple stores.

Released with 4GB of storage and in five colors, the diminutive device features a new “click wheel” that integrates control buttons into a solid-state, touch-sensitive scroll wheel. It also showcases Cupertino’s growing fascination with aluminum, which will become a hallmark of Apple design.

Despite its small size, the new music player’s market potential looms large. In fact, the iPod mini soon becomes Apple’s fastest-selling music player yet.

January 27, 2010: After months of rumors and speculation, Steve Jobs publicly shows off the iPad for the first time. Aside from the name, which some people joke sounds like a female sanitary product, the first-generation iPad immediately earns critical acclaim.

“The last time there was this much excitement over a tablet, it had some commandments written on it,” The Wall Street Journal quips.

When it goes on sale a few months later, the first-gen iPad quickly becomes Apple’s fastest-selling new product ever.

January 16, 1986: Apple introduces the Macintosh Plus, its third Mac model and the first to be released after Steve Jobs was forced out of the company the previous year.

The Mac Plus boasts an expandable 1MB of RAM and a double-sided 800KB floppy drive. And it’s the first Macintosh to include a SCSI port, which serves as the main way of attaching a Mac to other devices (at least until Apple abandons the tech on the original iMac G3 upon Jobs’ return).

January 15, 2008: Steve Jobs shows off the first MacBook Air at the Macworld conference in San Francisco, calling the revolutionary computer the “world’s thinnest notebook.”

The 13.3-inch laptop measures only 0.76 inches at its thickest point and 0.16 inches at its tapered thinnest. It also boasts a unibody aluminum design, thanks to an Apple engineering breakthrough that allows the crafting of a complicated computer case from a single block of finely machined metal.

In a brilliant piece of showmanship during the MacBook Air launch, Jobs pulls the super-slim laptop out of a standard interoffice envelope. (You can watch his keynote introducing the MacBook Air below).

January 5, 1999: Apple introduces its revised Power Mac G3 minitower, nicknamed the “Blue and White G3” or “Smurf Tower” to separate it from the earlier beige model.

The first new Power Mac since the colorful plastic iMac G3 shipped, the pro-level machine borrows the same transparent color scheme. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hang around too long.