Apple turns 50. How the tech giant started, almost failed, and is ‘shaping the future’ in long game

Apple began in 1976 with Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, weathered early setbacks, and grew into a global tech giant.

After Jobs returned, hits like the iMac, iPod, iPhone, App Store, and iPad transformed Apple from a hardware maker into a platform company.

Under Tim Cook, Apple expanded into services, mixed reality, and AI-enabled products such as Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Vision Pro, iOS 18, and iPhone 16.

Apple’s 50-year arc shows how design, software, and ecosystem strategy can build a $4 trillion consumer tech leader.