7 Apple inventions that reinvented Apple

As Apple turns 50, it’s easy to focus on the biggest hits, such as the Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone. But the company never relied on a single blockbuster. Instead, its history is paved with a series of ambitious products that arrived at just the right moments.

More than the products themselves, Apple’s history can be divided into moments that took the company in major new directions, saved it from bankruptcy, and reinvented its identity. Here are the seven products that helped Apple stay relevant amid a rapidly changing landscape.

iMac: The comeback

Before Apple introduced the G3 iMac, the company was facing some tough times. Apple was close to bankruptcy with a bloated product lineup and no clear strategy for the future. There was also the whole leadership situation, with a carousel of CEOs after Jobs left in 1985.

When Jobs returned to his role as Apple’s CEO in 1997, he completely rethought the company’s strategy. Not only that, he knew that Apple needed a killer product to win back its customers. 

The iMac, introduced in 1998, wasn’t just a new computer. It was a whole new concept that would change Apple forever. Unlike all other PCs at the time, the iMac was made of beautiful translucent, colorful plastic and had a modern all-in-one design.

Standards like floppy disk drives and SCSI gave way to more modern technologies such as CD-ROM, USB, and Ethernet. The idea was clear: a computer for the future, ready for the internet, that was so simple to use that anyone would want it.

The iMac didn’t save Apple alone, but it helped the company get back on track and, more importantly, reestablished its identity as a company focused on the user experience.

iPod: The ecosystem

Even before the iPod, Apple had tried to reach markets beyond computers with things like digital cameras, printers, and even a game console. They all failed.

But in 2001, the company finally took a step in the right direction to create a true Apple ecosystem. The first iPod was more than a pretty MP3 player. It was a device built to expand beyond the Mac. Users could simply plug them into their Mac and automatically sync their iTunes library.

The iPod also showed what Apple did best: take an idea that was already on the market and make it even better. MP3 players were already a thing at the time, but the iPod was smaller, better designed, and way more intuitive than anything out there. The Click Wheel made it unlike any other portable music player ever made.

Over time, the iPod gained support for Windows PCs, which made even more people want an iPod. It pulled new users into Apple Stores and made iTunes a platform. But more than the music, the iPod paved the way for Apple to create an entire ecosystem of products that worked seamlessly with each other.

iTunes Store: The first Service

What really helped the iPod become a big hit was the iTunes Store. At the time, Apple was totally focused on selling hardware to make money. But in 2003, the iTunes Store changed that.

In an attempt to help record labels combat piracy, Steve Jobs partnered with major record labels to launch the iTunes Store. The idea was to let customers purchase digital versions of their favorite albums at affordable prices.

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Moreover, users could even purchase a single song for just 99 cents, a groundbreaking innovation at the time. And of course, purchased songs were automatically synced to the user’s iPod.

The iTunes Store marked the beginning of a new era for Apple. It was a digital service that complemented the hardware, and vice versa. One made you want the other.

In 2010, the iTunes Store became the world’s largest music vendor. Now, we have Apple Music, Apple TV, and even the App Store, and it’s all because Apple decided to create its own online music store more than two decades ago.

MacBook Air: The laptop of tomorrow

One of the most iconic moments in Apple’s history is undoubtedly when Steve Jobs pulled the original MacBook Air out of an inter-office envelope in 2008. He wasn’t just showing how thin the MacBook Air was, but how light, portable, and versatile laptops could be.

Unlike other laptops at the time, the MacBook Air was incredibly thin and light. It targeted customers who didn’t need bulky laptops. More than that, it was built with technologies that have become standard today – things like a speedy SSD, multi-touch trackpad, and of course, its all-aluminum design.

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Just like Apple did with the first iMac, the MacBook Air was a statement of how Apple believed laptops should be from then on. No more CD trays or legacy ports.

Competitors rushed to copy it. Intel built the Ultrabook initiative in response. The MacBook Air quietly reshaped the PC industry at a moment when Apple needed the Mac to remain relevant in a post-iPhone world.

Apple Watch: The next chapter

The Apple Watch was the first truly new product category introduced under Tim Cook’s leadership as CEO. It was also the first major test to show whether Apple could still innovate without Steve Jobs.

The first version seemed to lack a clear focus. Apple tried to promote the Apple Watch as a fashion accessory, an iPhone companion, and also a fitness tracker. It also had a very slow processor and relied heavily on the iPhone to run apps. But despite these issues, the Apple Watch was a success and showed that the company was still in good hands.

Britta O’Boyle

The Apple Watch was so successful that it redefined the idea of a smartwatch. The concept wasn’t new, but most of them were ugly, clunky, and cheap. The Apple Watch was launched with a beautiful OLED display, customizable bands, and a premium finish made of aluminum, steel, and even solid gold.

Apple eventually addressed the biggest criticisms and refocused its efforts on making it a fitness and health device. The Watch has now become indispensable for millions of people, thanks to features such as health alerts, 5G, and Emergency SOS right from their wrist. 

And perhaps more importantly, it launched Apple’s wearables and accessories segment, which now includes AirPods and Vision Pro.

AirPods: The lock-in effect

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 7, it was missing a port that had been on every Apple product since its first Macintosh: a headphone jack. In its place, Apple included a Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter in the box and released its first pair of wireless earbuds aptly named AirPods.

Few Apple products were mocked as quickly as AirPods. The truly wireless design looked strange. People were afraid that they would easily lose their earphones since there was no wire connecting them.

Andreas Bergsman

Yet, AirPods became a huge success. Once users experienced instant pairing and automatic device switching without having to worry about tedious Bluetooth settings, there was no turning back. Soon, everyone wanted AirPods.

This also led competitors to invest heavily in wireless earbuds. Despite that, only AirPods offered so many convenient features for iPhone users. They served as subtle reminders of the advantages of staying locked into the Apple ecosystem, rather than buying earbuds from other brands. And without a headphone jack on the new iPhone, it was a natural accessory pairing.

Apple constantly promotes how well the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods work together. Together, they become a strong reason for iPhone users not to switch to Android, or even to motivate them to buy other Apple products.

Today, AirPods are a phenomenon. You see them everywhere around the world, and they have become an important source of revenue for Apple.

Apple Silicon: The bet on the future

Apple made a bold move when it transitioned Macs from Intel processors to its own Apple Silicon chips in 2020. With the introduction of the M1 chip, Apple didn’t just make faster Macs. It reclaimed control over its roadmap.

For a moment, it was almost as if the Mac was becoming a niche product. There were computers with better performance and lower prices. At the same time, Apple relied on Intel to plan what would come next for the Mac.

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Apple Silicon chips have breathed new life into the Mac. These chips have enabled Apple to better integrate hardware and software, which has also enabled new form factors for the Mac. The MacBook Air is now smaller and more powerful than ever, and the new, affordable MacBook Neo runs full macOS on an iPhone chip.

The Mac has once again set itself apart from the rest of the industry, not only because it has a better design, but because its entire architecture is more powerful and more efficient. The result is that more and more people have been switching to the Mac in recent years.

The Mac regained credibility. Long-time Mac users regained enthusiasm. Apple Silicon Macs are now, in a way, what the first iMac represented for Apple in the late ’90s.

What’s next?

Looking back, it was hard to imagine that these products would become so important to Apple.

The iMac seemed like an optimistic concept, the iPod was too niche, the MacBook Air had too many compromises for its time, the Apple Watch lacked a clear purpose, AirPods seemed like a gimmick, and Apple Silicon was a risky architecture change.

And yet, each of them solved a specific challenge Apple was facing at the time and paved the way for the products and services we have today.

Of course, the big question now is what the next “quiet savior” will be. Apple is already investing heavily in new areas such as health and spatial computing with devices such as the Apple Vision Pro. Whether any of these efforts will become the next iMac or iPod remains to be seen.

Perhaps Apple’s next big thing will come from where we least expect it.