“…because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” These are probably Steve Jobs’ most memorable words. And also perhaps, the one that sum him up best.
Jobs, the founder of Apple, was considered to be one of the most influential and prolific inventors of all time. At the time of his death in 2011, Jobs had over 317 patents to his name.
Throughout his time at Apple, he was responsible for some of the most influential launches the world had ever seen. And today, on what would have been his 69th birthday, we’ve put together a list of the five most memorable Apple products that were launched under his guidance.
Apple II
Apple II was one of the first successful mass-produced microcomputer, and it played a significant role in the development of personal computing as we know it today. This was due to several reasons. The first was its defining feature – a colour display with graphics mode. Apple’s logo too was redesigned with rainbow, so it could be displayed on the computer’s monitor.
Other standout features included 4KB of expandable RAM, an integrated keyboard, serial port, and seven expansion slots for adding functionality or connecting peripherals such as game paddles and joysticks. The computer was aimed at gamers and programmers and revolutionised personal computing for both, work and entertainment at the time.
Apple iMac G3
“The back of this thing looks better than the front of the other guys. It looks like it’s from another planet – a good planet. A planet with better designers,” Jobs famously quipped at the launch of the iMac G3.
The CPU was a major departure from Apple’s classic designs. The chassis was made partially of translucent plastic, and came in 13 different colours, with playful names such as “Bondi Blue” and “Flower Power.”
The iMac, later dubbed the iMac G3, was the first to integrate the monitor and CPU into a single unit. This was perhaps the beginning of the classic, minimalist design iMacs are known for today.
The computer featured a PowerPC G3 processor with 32MB RAM, expandable up to 512MB in later models. On offer was also in-built ethernet connectivity and a 56k modem, along with USB ports for peripherals.
The iMac G3 is often credited with ensuring Apple’s survival, at a time when the company saw considerable financial losses. Owing to its innovative design and focus on ease of use, it became wildly popular with the masses, and therefore, one of Apple’s most successful products.
Apple iPod (1st generation)
“Music a part of everyone’s life. It’s been around forever, and always will be around. This is not a speculative market. And because it’s a part of everyone’s life, it’s a very large target market, albeit with no market leader,” he’d said. That was all set to change.
The original iPod had a minimalist design, featuring a white plastic body in the front, a stainless-steel back. What’s more, it had the iconic iPod scroll and click wheel, which using capacitive sensing, allowed users to navigate around the player as well as control music playback.
The first iPod had a 5GB hard drive, capable of storing approximately 1,000 songs in the MP3 format. This was a significant amount of storage at the time, considering how other portable music players at the time had only a fraction of that capacity.
Apple iPhone (1st generation)
The original iPhone’s launch event is perhaps the most memorable keynote addresses in tech history. It is here that Jobs famously tricked viewers into believing Apple is introducing not one, but three new products. However, he then pulled out a single device from his pocket which combined all three – a phone, an internet communicator, and an MP3 player – the original iPhone.
Dubbed the iPhone 2G, the original iPhone was a revolutionary product with features like virtual keyboard, gesture controls such as swiping, pinching or tapping, a 2MP camera, and even on-device GPS navigation and web browsing. All of these features, considered ubiquitous to smartphones these days, were introduced with the original iPhone.
ALSO READ: Evolution of the iPhone: How Apple built the poster boy for smartphones
The iPhone remains one of the most iconic products in Apple’s product lineup, and perhaps the most influential and most-loved smartphone series of all time.
Apple iPad (1st generation)
Jobs, once famously said, “What we (Apple) want to do is, put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn how to use in 20 minutes. And we want to do it with a radio link, so you don’t have to hook up to anything and you’re in communication with larger databases and other computer.” And thus, the idea behind the Apple iPad was born.
ALSO READ: Apple iPad variants: Which tablet suits your lifestyle and needs the best
Jobs introduced the first-generation iPad in January 2010. The first iPad was powered by an A4 chipset, with 256MB of RAM. The device came with a 9.7-inch multi-touch display with a resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels. There were models with both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity.
Now, at the beginning, we did mention five products. But there were two more offerings in Steve Jobs’ arsenal, that we just couldn’t not mention – the original MacBook Air, and iCloud.
Apple MacBook Air
The MacBook Air was the first premium ultraportable laptop from Apple, with a 13.3-inch screen and a full-size keyboard. It was touted as the world’s thinnest notebook at the time. The device attracted attention for its lack of an optical disc drive, and having far fewer ports than was the norm at the time for laptops in general.
The device did not have any FireWire ports, Ethernet Ports, or even a Kensington security slot and was solely focused on portability and still being able to handle heavy multi-tasking on the device, on the go.
ALSO READ: Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air is the thinnest and the most powerful yet
MacBooks remain some of the most loved machines for personal computing today, with the MacBook Air, and its more premium MacBook Pro siblings being known the world over for their fluid-easy-to-use interface, compact form factors, and super powerful processors.
iCloud
iCloud was perhaps the catalyst for the cloud storage revolution – with people moving from on-device storage on their computers and smartphones, or even peripherals such as CDs, pen drives as well as external hard drives, to cloud-based storage.
iCloud marked the first time Apple users could integrate their data and workflows across Apple products, providing sheer ease of use the Apple ecosystem is known for today.
With the service, users can now access their documents, pictures, videos, audio, or even app data from anywhere in the world, provided they have an Apple device and an active internet connection.
Looking back, Steve Jobs’ legacy today is far-reaching, still responsible for shaping the way the tech industry works to this day, and even the way we live, work, communicate, educate, and entertain in our everyday lives.
His pursuit of perfection and emphasis on simplicity, with the user’s experience at the core of his ideology, has set a standard that several other players in the industry aspire to, till date.
