October 7, 2011: Two days after the death of Steve Jobs, Apple opens preorders for its next-gen iPhone 4s.
The last iPhone that Jobs worked on directly, the 4s boasts a speedier A5 chip, improved 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, and — most significantly — Apple’s new AI virtual assistant, Siri.
October 5, 2011: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies at the age of 56 in his home in Palo Alto, California.
Jobs’ official cause of death is respiratory arrest arising from complications related to a rare type of pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer eight years earlier, and officially stepped down from his role as Apple CEO in August 2011, just weeks before his death.
October 1, 2011: Just days before Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 4s, the device’s name leaks after the latest iTunes beta inadvertently spills the beans.
The code also reveals that Apple’s new handset will come in black and white color options.
September 22, 2014: Apple notches a new sales record with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch, selling an astonishing 10 million units in the first weekend the handsets go on sale.
The eagerly anticipated smartphones bring a redesigned form factor that will persist for years. The most obvious change? Larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays built to lure phablet fans. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus also boast an A8 chip, improved iSight and FaceTime cameras, and — significantly — Apple Pay for secure mobile payments.
“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” Apple CEO Tim Cook says in a press release. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin.”
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.
September 17, 2012: On the back of record iPhone 5 preorders of 2 million in 24 hours, Apple’s stock price hits a new all-time high. For the first time in history, AAPL breaks the $700 mark in after-hours trading. Passing the milestone cements Cupertino’s place as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
Amazingly, the new record is $270 a share higher than at the start of the year. Apple stock rose 65% in just nine months.
September 15, 2014: Responding to its disastrous U2 album giveaway, Apple provides iPhone owners with a tool for wiping all signs of Songs of Innocence from their phones.
It comes after one of the strangest PR debacles in Apple history. After putting a free copy of U2’s latest release on every iPhone owner’s handset as a special promotion, millions find themselves with an album they didn’t order in their iTunes library. Many weren’t happy about it.
September 14, 2010: Security workers reportedly stop Steve Jobs at Japan’s Kansai International Airport. The reason? The Apple CEO supposedly tried to bring ninja throwing stars onto his private plane while heading home from vacation. The “Steve Jobs ninja stars” story quickly becomes one of the most bizarre Jobs stories ever.
Apple, however, quickly spoils the internet’s fun. Cupertino issues a statement describing the reports as “pure fiction” (although Apple acknowledges that Jobs visited Japan over the summer).
September 12, 2012: The Lightning connector replaces Apple’s aging 30-pin interface, a proprietary data and power connector that debuted on the iPod Classic in 2003. The slender and capable new Lightning port debuts in the iPhone 5, bringing big improvements — and no small amount of controversy.
Apple soon will build the Lightning connector into many other products, including iPad, iPod and accessories. Lightning cables can charge the mobile devices as well as transfer data to a Mac or PC.
September 1, 2010: Apple’s new music-focused social network, Ping, ships as part of iTunes 10. Apple says the service will let users discover new music and more easily follow their favorite artists.
Ping racks up 1 million signups in the first 48 hours. Nevertheless, Apple’s social network is doomed from the start.
August 30, 2010: Just two years after opening its virtual doors, the iOS App Store passes a key milestone: one-quarter of a million apps for sale.
It’s a massive demonstration of success for a service Apple CEO Steve Jobs didn’t even initially want to offer.
August 24, 2011: With his health worsening, a cancer-stricken Steve Jobs resigns from his role leading Apple. Tim Cook assumes the role of Apple’s seventh CEO.
“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” Jobs writes in his retirement letter to the Apple board. “Unfortunately that day has come.”
August 23, 2011: United Airlines says it will hand out 11,000 iPads to its pilots as part of its “paperless flight deck” filled with essential data. It’s the largest rollout yet of Apple tablets as a replacement for the weighty flight bags previously carried by aircrews.
Going paperless saves around 16 million sheets of paper each year, the equivalent of 1,900 trees not cut down. Even better, the weight difference between the 1.5-pound iPad and the 40-pound flight bag saves 326,000 gallons of jet fuel per year!
August 17, 2012: Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ stolen iPad winds up in the hands of a clown called Kenny, who performs kids’ shows in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It’s a bizarre story all around, and fortunately winds up with the iPad being returned.
August 9, 2011: Apple overtakes oil giant ExxonMobil to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
The milestone caps an astonishing turnaround for Cupertino. Just 15 years earlier, it looked like it was just about “game over” for Apple.
July 31, 2012: The Daily, the world’s first iPad-only newspaper, lays off almost a third of its staff, signaling the demise of a bold publishing experiment.
The deep cuts — The Daily fires 50 of its 170 employees — affect mainly sports and editorial page staffers, although some production and design employees get the ax, too. The ominous move comes as News Corp places the iPad app “on watch” due to disappointing readership numbers.
July 28, 2012: Apple buys biometrics company AuthenTec, acquiring the technology that will power Touch ID for authentication and secure payments on the iPhone and other devices.
With a price tag of $356 million, the deal gives Apple the right to use AuthenTec hardware, software and patents. In the short term, Apple engineers start working to build Touch ID sensors into the iPhone 5s. Longer-term, AuthenTec’s mobile wallet tech paves the way for Apple Pay.
July 16, 2014: Apple agrees to pay $450 million to resolve the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against the company over e-book pricing in the iBooks Store. In the e-books lawsuit, Apple stood accused of conspiring with five major book publishers to fix prices on digital books.
After all five publishers settled their claims outside of court, Apple became the only one to go to trial. The e-books lawsuit settlement closes the book on a bad chapter in Apple history.
July 15, 2015: Apple introduces the sixth-gen iPod touch, attempting to prove that there’s still a place for the humble music player in the crazy, crazy world of iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple calls the device “the best iPod touch yet” in a press release, and touts “a new lineup of colors for all iPod models, including space gray, silver, gold, pink and blue.”
July 7, 2011: Three years after its launch, the App Store passes 15 billion downloads.
This represents a major milestone for Apple. The App Store offers more than 425,000 apps, which give the iPhone and iPad incredible capabilities and add to the devices’ wide appeal.
July 2, 2010: Apple opens up about “Antennagate,” issuing a letter that addresses iPhone 4 reception problems publicly for the first time.
In a letter addressed to iPhone 4 users, Apple admits to being “surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and … immediately began investigating them.” However, the company’s findings do little to dispel the growing Antennagate controversy.
July 1, 2012: Apple shuts down its MobileMe web service. Launched in 2008, the subscription-based suite of online services and software offered features like push email, data storage, Find My iPhone, a photo gallery, chat facilities and an online calendar.
After letting the service limp along for four years, Apple finally decides to pull the plug, pushing users to switch to iCloud. The company gives MobileMe users until the end of July to remove their data from the service.
June 30, 2015: Apple launches 24/7 radio station Apple Music 1 (launched originally as Beats 1). Part of Apple Music, the new global radio station features top DJs ranging from former BBC presenter Zane Lowe to top musical artists like Lil Wayne.
Apple calls Apple Music 1 “the biggest radio station in the world” and says it beats (no pun intended) all other music stations when it comes to concurrent listeners. However, without hard figures to back that up, some call out Cupertino on this claim.
June 24, 2010:. The iPhone 4 release date finally arrives, bringing a sleeker design, a new video telephony service called FaceTime and a gorgeous Retina display. Simply put, it’s a stunning smartphone.
While history may remember the device for the “Antennagate” scandal caused by that new design, it is otherwise a fantastic upgrade over the iPhone 3GS. In its first weekend, Apple will sell 1.7 million iPhone 4 handsets. That’s a major triumph for Cupertino.