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 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, the iPad quickly becomes Apple’s fastest-selling new product ever.
October 26, 2004: Apple debuts its iPod Photo, a device capable of putting not just 15,000 songs in your pocket, but also 25,000 photographs.
It is the first iPod to offer a color screen and the ability to display digital images and album cover art. The iPod Photo represents a big step forward in the functionality of Apple’s iconic music player.
October 23, 2001: Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the first iPod, a device capable of storing an entire music library in a highly portable package.
The first-generation device boasts a 5GB hard drive capable of putting “1,000 songs in your pocket.” That may not sound too dazzling in a world in which people can stream the massive Apple Music library from their iPhones. But it was a game-changer at the time!
September 25, 2006: Apple ships its second-generation iPod nano, offering a fancy redesign of the pocket-size original.
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!
August 15, 1998: The iMac G3 — Apple’s brightly colored, translucent Macintosh relaunch — goes on sale to a rabid audience.
Steve Jobs’ first major new product since returning to Apple, the internet-ready iMac cements his legacy as a forward-thinking tech visionary. It 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 7, 2006: Apple unleashes the first Mac Pro, a high-end desktop computer that complete’s the company’s transition to Intel processors.
Built for computation-heavy tasks like 3D rendering and professional audio and video editing, the quad-core, 64-bit Mac Pro serves as a replacement for the Power Mac G5 (from which it borrows its aluminum “cheese grater” design).
July 19, 2004: The fourth-generation iPod brings neat innovations to the popular audio device, including the Click Wheel interface recently introduced on the iPod mini.
“The best digital music player just got better,” says Steve Jobs in a press release on the day the product launches. And yet some people feel disappointed by the upgraded music player.
June 29, 2007: The first iPhone goes on sale, giving excited Apple fans lined up outside stores their first chance at owning the game-changing smartphone.
The queues that greet the iPhone launch around the world prove that Cupertino is onto a good thing with the smartphone, first shown off by Steve Jobs earlier that year.
June 24, 2010: Apple’s fourth-generation smartphone, the iPhone 4, goes on sale.
While the device is perhaps most remembered for the infamous “Antennagate,” it is otherwise a pretty great handset. In its first weekend, it sells 1.7 million units. That’s a major triumph for Apple.
June 16, 2010: Apple reports a massive surge of interest in iPhone 4, with 600,000 sales on the first day of preorders.
The company calls the number “far higher” than expected. At the time, it’s the most iPhone preorders Apple has ever taken in a single day. AT&T suffers server problems thanks to the demand — with 10 times the usual traffic on its website. It’s proof positive that Apple is onto a winner!
