What great about apple

20 Astonishing Facts About Apple

To raise capital for Apple, co-founder Steve Wozniak had to sell his scientific calculator.

Apple Inc. has become one of the world’s top corporations, generating billions of dollars annually.

Apple provides jobs worldwide, introduces astonishing new technologies and products.

The company upends the apple carts of technology, politics, social events, and more.

Their achievements cover so many areas that it would take days to spotlight.

Apple’s rise to power has been an up and down battle of mega proportions, they’ve had to go up against fierce competitors, government regulations, and more.

However, when all is said and done, Apple still is a leader in innovation and originality.

So let’s look at 20 fun facts about Apple.

The name ‘Apple’ came from founder Steve Jobs’ like of the fruit. Mystery surrounded the reason for the name Apple, but in truth, it was just the fruit that Jobs’ liked and named the company after that.

Apple originally had three co-founders. The third co-founder, a man named Ronald Wayne, had joined co-founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak but he left the company only 12 days after it was founded. He sold his 10% share for only $800 and got an additional payout of $1,500. Had Wayne stayed with the company, his shares would be worth today around $60 billion!

Apple has a ‘no smoking’ ban regarding their computers. As ridiculous as it sounds, but if you smoke while using an Apple computer, you void the warranty – you’ve been warned!

Apple employs more people than a good-sized city. Apple employs over 90,000 people. However, millions more make money from Apple and that ranges from sales affiliates to mom and pop shops around the world.

With the first Apple iPod, an Easter Egg was implanted. The way to get the Easter Egg is to go to the ‘About’ menu and hold down the center button for just a few seconds. Users could then see and play a game called Breakout. The game had previously been developed by Apple co-founders Wozniak and Jobs when they worked at Atari.

Apple is so successful, it has twice the amount of money than the U.S. Treasury.

Apple scored big time with the iPod. The creator, Tony Fadell had originally offered the device to both Real Networks and Philips. Both companies turned it down.

In 1983, Apple launched its Lisa line of computers. It failed. Word is that around 2,700 of the devices are buried in a landfill in Utah.

Apple is so successful, that in the first quarter of 2014, it made more money than Amazon, Google, and Facebook combined.

Apple has around $150 billion in excess capital. It could buy companies like Netflix, Twitter, Tesla, and Facebook.

It was no evil Satanic reason the Apple I sold for $666.66. Steve Wozniak saw that the price was $667.00 and liked repeated numbers so he changed it to $666.66.

Apple’s first company logo featured a drawing of the father of physics, Sir Isaac Newton.

To raise capital for Apple, co-founder Steve Wozniak had to sell his scientific calculator.

Apple was the first to make a digital color camera.

The name iPod was inspired by the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

At present, Apple is the largest publicly traded company in the United States.

Apple’s cash on hand, around $155 billion, could give everyone in the US, $490.00!

If Apple was a country, it would be the world’s 27 th largest country, between Venezuela and Belgium.

By 2011, the Apple iPhone accounted for 40% of the company’s annual revenue. It’s estimated that over three-quarters of Apple’s income is from products that were invented within the past 10 years.

Even with an estimated net worth of $7 billion, for the last 15 years with the company, CEO Steve Jobs was only paid $1 so he could qualify for the company’s health benefits.

Overall, Apple’s history is one of astonishment. It’s now one of the most powerful players in the computing and mobile fields.

Apple continues to surprise the world with its innovative products and services.

Источник

Top 10 Myths About Apple

Like many other successful tech companies, Apple, Inc. is a myth magnet. There’s a simple reason for this: The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is shrouded in secrecy. Press and social networking Web sites are always rife with rumors about Apple’s next big product release — a secret guarded more closely than «The Hobbit» film production.

The mystique surrounding the company is both justified and hard-earned. Apple was founded in 1976 and found success quickly with the invention of the Apple I Personal computer (PC). However, it was the advent of the Macintosh in 1984 (and the classic television commercial that launched it) that would make Apple famous. It wouldn’t last, though, as tensions between co-founder Steve Jobs and president and CEO John Sculley would lead to Jobs’ departure the following year. Jobs wouldn’t return to Apple until 1997, when the company was in the midst of a steep decline [source: The Apple Museum].

That decline may have been fortuitous, as no one saw the iMac coming. No one predicted the revolutionary impact of the iPod, iPhone or iPad, either. As a result of these insanely successful products, Apple faithful await the annual MacWorld conference with great anticipation, speculating about what new product announcements will be made.

For all Apple’s rock-star status in the tech world, there’s still a lot that we don’t know about the company. Here, we’ll debunk 10 myths about Apple, in no particular order. Mystery solved — or is it?

10: Apple is Going Out of Business

The biggest running joke in tech circles is that Apple has been going out of business for 33 years. For decades, it was the remote outlier of the personal computing world, grabbing a miniscule share of the Microsoft-dominated market whenever it could.

Many of Apple’s product releases have been met with derision from the tech journalism establishment. A lot of that ire was directed toward the Newton, the first commercially produced, writable tablet PC that turned out to be a critical and commercial bomb. Innovation can be costly, and in the minds of some journalists, Apple is always one (false) step away from bankruptcy.

One example of this rumor in action happened in 2007 when Apple introduced the iPhone. Today, the iPhone is the most recognized name in smartphones. In 2007, though, critics dismissed Apples’ new iPhone (and its price tag) as «nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks» [source: Lynn]. In the fourth quarter of 2008, several months into an economic recession in the U.S., Apple sold 4 million iPhones, representing an 88 percent increase over the same quarter a year before [source: Apple].

Critics have also long predicted that Apple will be pushed out of the computer hardware business, forced to focus instead on software or electronics. In 2006, forecasts said Apple would stop making Macintosh computers by 2010 [source: Siebold]. Those speculations, of course, proved false.

Meanwhile, Apple shipped 25 percent more Macintosh computers in May 2009 than it did one year before. By comparison, the personal computer market in general only increased shipments by one 1 percent over the same period [source: Gonsalves]. In 2009, Macs account for a solid 9 percent of the American PC market, compared to 6 percent only two years prior [source: Cheng].

Even Apple’s toughest critics would have a hard time finding anything to criticize about those figures. The next item in our list, though, has some people keeping an eye on Apple no matter what the numbers look like.

9: Without Steve Jobs, Apple is Finished

Steve Jobs is synonymous with Apple’s success. When he returned to the floundering company in 1997 as interim CEO after being ousted in a boardroom coup in 1985, he led a mythic Apple resurgence that still continues today [source: Cheng].

Jobs was the black-turtleneck-and-jeans-clad tech guru who, year after year, took the stage at MacWorld to introduce the world to some of the most innovative computing and electronics gadgets of the past two decades, including the original iMac, iPod and iPhone.

When Jobs stepped down in January 2009 for a six-month leave of absence due to serious — and undisclosed — health issues, the man and his company made headlines around the world. Could Apple possibly survive without its charismatic genius of a CEO? The question lingered after Jobs returned to work, especially when he eventually resigned from his chief executive role in August 2011. He passed away on Oct. 5, 2011, at the age of 56.

In spite of the natural grief and uncertainty tied to his death, most experts believe Apple will have no trouble carrying on without Jobs. For one thing, it’s easy to overlook the fact that, in spite of his charisma and influence, Jobs didn’t conceive of or design many of Apple’s greatest hits. Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design, gets credit for the original iMacs, the click-wheel iPod and the iPhone 3G [source: Arthur]. What about all those memorable Apple commercials and marketing campaigns? Remember the «Switch» and «Mac versus PC» ads? Those were the brainchild of Phil Schiller, senior vice president of globel marketing [source: Dannen].

More importantly, the Apple that Jobs left behind in 2011 was very different than the Apple that Steve Jobs saved in 1997 [source: Harris]. Thanks to Jobs, Apple has a clear vision, strong branding and an unflaggingly loyal following. Even as it moves on following Jobs’ death, the company will be on sure footing — or as sure as things get in the tech industry — for a long time to come.

Our next myth has caused potential Apple customers to hesitate, but let’s see why it’s all just a misunderstanding.

8: Macs and Windows Computers are Incompatible

One of Apple’s biggest marks on pop culture was its «Get a Mac» ad campaign featuring actors John Hodgman as PC and Justin Long as Mac. The «Mac versus PC» TV commercials prompted both serious debates and numerous parodies. With all that hype, it’s easy to assume that Macs and Windows PCs are so different as to be utterly incompatible.

It’s true that Macs and Windows PCs run on different operating systems. Macs use the UNIX-based OS X while Windows machines use, well, Windows. But that doesn’t mean that the two operating systems speak completely different languages.

For starters, just about every common software application runs on both Macs and Windows PCs. That includes Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook), most major Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari), Adobe Photoshop and even iTunes. This means that Mac and PC users can share almost every type of document or file. What’s more, Macs and PCs can easily run on the same home or corporate network.

For users, the major difference between Mac and Windows comes down to cosmetics and semantics. A long-time Windows users might look at a Mac and ask, «Where’s the Start menu? Why don’t applications close when I click the X? What the heck is a Finder?» One other notable difference is games, with some PC games appearing for Mac after the title’s initial release, or not at all.

Part of the confusion comes from the different ways that the two systems approach menus. On a Mac, the main application menu is always on the top of the screen, separate from the active application windows themselves. So, even when you close your browser windows on a Mac, the application you were using is still running. You have to select «Quit» to close the application completely.

The great thing is you don’t have to choose between Macs and PCs anymore: Apple offers an application called Boot Camp that lets you run Windows on your Mac. When you use Boot Camp, you can select whether to switch between OS X and Windows when you reboot the computer. Apple ensures that Windows has all the hardware drivers it needs for the Mac you’re using, though it does limit you to the 32-bit version of Windows even if you have 64-bit Mac hardware.

Now, let’s look at a myth that could hit you right in the wallet.

Источник

How Did Apple Get So Big?

The Story Behind Apple’s Success

On August 2, 2018, Apple made history by becoming the first publicly traded U.S. company to be valued at $1 trillion, as measured by market capitalization.   In August of 2020, the company broke records again by becoming the first U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion market cap.   Apple (AAPL) hovered just below that level as of early October 2020.

Since 2010, Apple has been one of the most valuable companies in the world.   It stayed at or near the top for many years after that.   The reason Apple is so highly valued is simple on the surface: the company makes popular products with generous margins. However, a curious reader who digs a little deeper will find mistakes, overthrown CEOs, and much more. In this article, we’ll look at the story behind Apple’s success.

Key Takeaways

• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple in 1977, introducing first the Apple I and then the Apple II.
• Apple went public in 1980, but Jobs eventually left—only to triumphantly return several years later.
• Apple’s success lies in a strategic vision that transcended simple desktop computing to include mobile devices and wearables.
• Both performance and design are key drivers of the Apple brand and its ongoing success.

From Apple I to Steve Jobs 2.0

Understanding why Apple became so successful requires looking back at its origins and history. From the first Apple computer (the Apple I, which was just a motherboard without a monitor or keyboard) to the latest iWatch, here is a brief overview of the chronology of Apple’s innovative products.

Apple, founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, started out in the business of kit computers with the Apple I.   This initial production run is popular as a collectible now. However, it will mainly be remembered for helping the company get enough capital to build the Apple II in 1977—the same year Apple officially incorporated.   Wozniak primarily built both these computers, and Jobs handled the marketing side. 

The Apple II drove the company’s revenue until the mid-1980s, despite the hardware remaining largely the same. Apple attempted updates like the Apple III and the Apple Lisa, but these failed to catch on commercially. Although the Apple II was still selling, Apple as a company was in trouble when the 1980s began.

The 1984 release of the Macintosh was a leap forward for Apple. However, in the intervening years between the Apple II and the Macintosh, IBM had caught up. Disappointing revenues from the Macintosh and internal struggles for control led to Apple’s board dismissing Jobs in favor of John Sculley (some sources say Jobs decided to leave). 

In any case, Jobs worked on NeXT Inc. after leaving Apple. Under Sculley, Apple started growing its product lines.

Sculley served as Apple’s CEO until 1993.   During those years, Apple enjoyed strong growth. It created new products, including laser printers, Macintosh Portable, PowerBooks, the Newton, and much more. Apple products continued to sell at a premium, so the margins were generous for Apple and led to strong financial results. During the same period, however, cheaper computers running Windows were serving a far larger middle market, while Windows also benefited from powerful Intel processors. By comparison, Apple seemed to be stalling.

Two CEOs, Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, failed to turn the tide against the relentless spread of systems running Microsoft operating systems.   Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows, was becoming the industry standard, and the Apple Macintosh was showing signs of age. Amelio eventually set about addressing some of these issues by buying NeXT Inc.—the company run by none other than Apple founder Steve Jobs.

The Second Chance CEO

From the Macintosh onward, Apple has either been a reflection of or a reaction to Steve Jobs. In the Macintosh, Apple was trying to create a machine that made computing simple and enjoyable. In particular, Jobs was out to create a user experience that would convince everyone to buy a Mac.

Jobs believed a truly revolutionary product couldn’t depend on customers’ needs and wants. He thought customers could not understand the value of a product until they were actually using it. Unfortunately, Jobs was ahead of his time in 1985—precisely 12 years ahead of his time.

When Jobs overthrew Amelio and took Apple’s reins once more in 1997, the hardware had caught up to his vision for all things digital. He launched the iMac with a strong marketing campaign featuring the «Think Different» slogan. Although Jobs is often given credit for spending the money and time on marketing, excellent marketing and branding have always been key to Apple’s growth. The real difference between the iMac and all the products preceding it was the beauty and design.

It was not a tower and monitor setup like every other PC on the market. The iMac almost looked like a racer’s helmet photographed at speed, a colorful blur sweeping back from the screen. In 1998, the iMac was the most aesthetically pleasing machine on the market. It was the computer no one knew they wanted until they saw it. It was elegant and, thanks to the OS upgrade, it was user-friendly.

The iEcosystem

The iMac was just the start as Apple released a string of hit products that reflected the new focus on elegance and user experience. These included the iBook, the iPod, the iPhone, the MacBook Air, and the iPad. The iPod became the category killer in MP3 players, and the iPhone essentially launched and then dominated the smartphone market. The iPad then somehow convinced millions of people that they needed yet another screen to consume content.

All these devices were perceived as being better in quality—and certainly in design—than competing products. Jobs was relentless on design and indoctrinated the entire culture of Apple into the art of design.

The other point he brought Apple back to in his second tenure is the ease of use. After a few minutes of using the wheel on an iPod or tapping icons on an iPad, these new forms of control became part of the simplicity that makes Apple appealing. Now every product update from Apple is anticipated by the media and the general public, in addition to the fans that the company had from the start.

More importantly, all of these products moved Apple into a new business model of creating a tight ecosystem of hardware, software, and content. Apple didn’t create iTunes to be a simple program for users to transfer MP3s onto iPods, as was the case with many other manufacturers’ offerings. Instead, the company attacked the concept of an album by breaking them into songs that would be sold individually at a fraction of the whole album’s price.

The same process took place with software. Many popular computer functions could be done on Apple’s mobile devices using stripped-down apps—available, of course, on Apple’s App Store.

Being the first big mover into many of these markets, Apple built the stadium and set the rules for the game. When you pay for books, movies, apps, or music on an Apple device, Apple gets a cut. Of course, this business doesn’t generate as much revenue as selling an iPhone or an iPad, where the markup is much more generous.

That said, it is the content you buy through Apple that locks many people into buying Apple again when their i-devices get old. So the content part of the ecosystem pays off for Apple in the short-term and the long-term. Once you migrate to Apple because of the design or the simplicity, it is the integration with your content that keeps you there.

The Post-Jobs Era

Steve Jobs died in 2011 of pancreatic cancer.   Serving as CEO until shortly before his death, Steve Jobs turned the reins of the company over to Tim Cook.   The post-Jobs era at Apple has nonetheless been a success by most measures. Apple continued to be the dominant tech company in both market share and stock price.

Some analysts feel that without Jobs as the creative force, Apple has become solely iterative in its tech releases rather than transformative. The major release of the post-Jobs era has been the Apple Watch. The firm also created Apple TV devices and launched the Apple TV+ streaming video-on-demand service to go with it.

In the absence of a groundbreaking new product, Apple is heavily reliant on the iPhone’s production cycle to power its financial success. Critics say that without Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple has lost its innovative edge in recent years and is riding on its brand to drive sales.

The company still produced some of the best products with the most integrated ecosystem. However, the gap between Apple and competitors like Samsung and Google was no longer as pronounced as it once was. Indeed, companies like Samsung were increasingly poised to take the lead when it comes to product innovation in some categories.

Apple in the 20s

Apple’s market capitalization reached new highs in 2020, as the company enjoyed some successes and set new goals for the future. The company’s revenue from wearable technology, such as the Apple Watch, set new records. Apple’s revenue from services also rose to record highs during the 2020 crisis, as contactless payment options like Apple Pay became more popular.

Apple also announced two major changes to the Mac in 2020. First, Apple is transitioning the Mac away from Intel processors to its own custom-designed chips. Apple’s new processors are based on the ones used in iPhones and iPads, making them more energy-efficient. The new chips have the potential to give Apple’s laptops longer battery life and more processing power than PCs.

Secondly, Apple is changing the macOS so that developers can make iOS and iPadOS apps run on the Mac without modifications. That will dramatically expand the number of apps available on the Mac and make it more competitive with PCs.

The Bottom Line

There is a fairly good chance that you are reading this article either on an Apple device or with one near you. Maybe you are doing it on a MacBook Air while listening to an iPod touch and occasionally glancing at the newest Apple Watch for alerts from your iPhone. The reason behind that—and behind Apple’s success—is that its devices are beautiful to look at and a pleasure to use. That’s why the company has such a powerful brand and lofty stock valuation.

The marketing helps, and the media and fan frenzy never hurt. However, it is the quality of the products that drive Apple’s success. Add to this the iEcosystem that makes it much easier to stay with Apple than try something new, and you have a company with what Warren Buffett called an economic moat. It should not be surprising that Buffett invested heavily in Apple.

Источник