January 5, 1999: Apple introduces its revised Power Mac G3 minitower, nicknamed the “Blue and White G3” or “Smurf Tower” to separate it from the earlier beige model.
The first new Power Mac since the colorful plastic iMac G3 shipped, the pro-level machine borrows the same transparent color scheme. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hang around too long.
December 23, 2005: Apple files a patent application for its iconic “slide to unlock” gesture for the iPhone.
At this point, the iPhone remains a secret research project. However, the ability to unlock the device by sliding your finger across it signifies Apple’s big ambitions for its smartphone. Cupertino wants the iPhone it’s racing to develop to be easy to use, intuitive and miles ahead of the competition technologically.
November 19, 2013: Apple gets final approval from the Cupertino City Council to proceed with building a massive second campus to house the iPhone-maker’s growing army of workers in California. Regarding the new Apple headquarters, Cupertino Mayor Orrin Mahoney issues a simple message: “Go for it.”
However, the massive structure — with an innovative circular design that will earn it the nickname “the spaceship” — remains years away from opening, despite Apple’s ambitious schedule.
November 18, 2003: Apple debuts its 20-inch iMac G4, the company’s biggest flat-panel all-in-one computer ever.
The introduction makes an already superb Mac even better. Somehow, though, the additional screen real estate makes the new Mac weigh twice as much as the 17-inch model.
November 15, 1990: Cupertino wins a design patent for the Apple Extended Keyboard II, arguably the greatest computer keyboard of all time.
Delivering the perfect combination of durability, feel and a pleasing click-clack sound, the Extended Keyboard II will become a mainstay of pro-grade Apple setups during the early 1990s — and perhaps the best-loved keyboard in Apple history. Courtesy of an ADB-to-USB adapter, some people continue to use these input devices today.
Concept designer Antonio De Rosa issued a slick new set of designs Thursday for what he’s calling “17 Pro Max: Thinnovation,” despite Apple’s legal department getting in his face a while back over some of his concepts looking “too real.” For the new one, he left out the word “iPhone” and used AI to help avoid copyright infringement, he said. And his passion for the work — and for Apple — outweighed his fear of retribution.
“Call me a fanboy, but I love these products and even the illusion to ‘work’ for any of those,” De Rosa told Cult of Mac. “It makes me feel happy. Maybe I can save them some headaches looking at my works; they could say ‘Naaa, this is ugly, let’s pass on [it].’ Who knows, maybe I’m helping to have less ugly phones.”
Right after Apple unveiled the redesigned M4 Mac mini on Tuesday, people noticed the power button’s odd placement — on the bottom of the tiny but potent machine! The design provides precious little room for a fleshy finger to reach without tipping the whole computer to get at it. Since then, a variety of “fixes” have poked fun at this perceived error, which is most likely a very intentional Apple design choice.
Check out some of the best “Buttongate” fixes below.
When it comes to new tech, the focus understandably falls on what’s changed, not what stayed the same.
That’s absolutely the case for the new M4 iMac, which Apple unveiled on Monday. Plenty of attention is (rightly) being lavished on the iMac’s guts. The M4 chip is a screamer, and the machine now comes with 16GB of unified memory as standard, a welcome change. And the new colors look great.
However, one thing that drives Apple customers bonkers has stayed the same. That one thing is Apple’s terrible mouse — or, more specifically, the ridiculous location of the charging port on the Magic Mouse.
September 25, 2006: Apple ships its second-generation iPod nano, offering a fancy redesign of the pocket-size original.
“iPod nano is the world’s most popular digital music player, and we’ve completely redesigned it to make it even better,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a press release. “The all-new iPod nano gives music fans more of what they love in their iPods.”
Among the new iPod nano’s improvements are a slimmer, anodized aluminum casing; a brighter screen; longer battery life, and a wide range of colors. And, oh yes, it also includes gapless music playback for the first time!
September 19, 2014: The iPhone undergoes its biggest upgrade — both figuratively and literally — since the original, with the launch 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.
August 27, 1999: Apple swaps out the striped, multicolored logo the company used since 1977 for a new single-color version. The evolution of the iconic Apple logo from rainbow to monochrome shocks many longtime fans.
However, it is part of a sustained, company-wide overhaul led by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The makeover includes new products, the “Think Different” ad campaign and, eventually, the removal of the word “Computer” from the company’s name.
August 15, 1998: The iMac G3 — Apple’s brightly colored, translucent Macintosh relaunch — goes on sale to a rabid audience.
Steve Jobs’ first major new product since returning to Apple, the internet-ready iMac cements his legacy as a forward-thinking tech visionary. It also introduces the world to the design talents of Jony Ive — and pretty much saves Apple in the process.
Just another day at the office, eh?
August 13, 2002: Apple unveils the final face-lift for its Power Mac G4, the so-called “Mirrored Drive Doors” model.
The distinctive-looking computer borrows visually from the previous “QuickSilver” G4, released a year earlier. However, it adds a different front panel, with a mirrorlike finish for the media drive doors. It’s the last visual redesign of Apple’s Power Mac G4.
July 24, 2006: The world gets its first glimpse of Apple’s new wireless Mighty Mouse, a multibutton Bluetooth device with super-accurate laser tracking.
Photos of the accessory come to light through an Apple filing with the Federal Communications Commission. Apple will launch the device the very next day.
July 17, 2002: Apple ships a new super-sized iMac G4 with a 17-inch widescreen LCD display that becomes the envy of most computer users at the time.
“The best consumer desktop just got even better,” says Steve Jobs of Apple’s new all-in-one computer in a press release. “Having this gorgeous 17-inch flat screen floating in mid-air right in front of you is simply breathtaking. There’s nothing like it in the PC world.” He wasn’t wrong!
July 11, 2008: The iPhone 3G goes on sale. Expectations for the smartphone sequel run high, and Apple delivers with the addition of GPS, faster 3G data and a higher-quality build. The iPhone 3G launch also brings a new mobile operating system packed with features.
Apple’s second smartphone runs iPhone OS 2, which introduces a better Mail app, turn-by-turn navigation and a little something called the App Store.
July 3, 2001: Apple suspends production of its Power Mac G4 Cube, one of the most notable busts in Apple history — and the first major flop following Steve Jobs’ glorious return to the company.
Although Apple leaves the door open to possibly reintroducing the remarkably clear G4 Cube at a later date, this never happens. The stylish computer is superseded by Apple’s upgrade to G5 processors and then to Intel Core-based Macs.
June 23, 2003: Apple launches its gorgeous Power Mac G5, a powerhouse desktop computer with a perforated aluminum chassis that earns it the affectionate nickname “the cheese grater.”
Starting at an affordable $1,999 (more than $3,400 in today’s money, adjusted for inflation), the Power Mac G5 is the world’s first 64-bit personal computer. It’s also Apple’s fastest machine yet.
May 8, 1997: Apple launches the PowerBook 2400c laptop, a 4.4-pound “subnotebook” that’s the MacBook Air of its day.
The PowerBook 2400c predicts the rise of speedy, lightweight notebooks, while also paying tribute to Apple’s past. Its design echoes the original PowerBook 100. Even years later, it remains a cult favorite among many Mac users.
May 6, 1998: Steve Jobs unveils the iMac G3, a brightly colored, translucent computer that will help save Apple. Coming just 10 months after Jobs’ new management team takes over, the original iMac launch loudly announces that the days of Apple quietly fading into the background are over.
The colorful computer marks the start of a very successful run for Cupertino.
March 29, 2012: Apple settles its “Antennagate” controversy by giving affected iPhone 4 owners the chance to claim a whopping $15 payout. The settlement covers customers who experienced problems with the phone dropping calls due to its cutting-edge design, but were unable to return their handsets (or didn’t want a free bumper from Apple to mitigate against the problem).
While it’s arguable whether a $15 payout was worth filing all the paperwork necessary to claim the cash, the Antennagate story — and the resulting class-action lawsuit — generated big headlines at the time.
March 20, 1997: Apple launches its Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, a futuristic, special-edition Mac that’s ahead of its time in every way. Not part of any established Mac line, it brings a look (and a price!) unlike anything else available — and Apple delivers them to buyers in a limo!
And yet the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh promptly bombs. Today, it’s a collector’s piece.
March 19, 1990: The ultra-fast Macintosh IIfx makes its debut, sporting a hefty price tag appropriate for such a speedy machine.
The fastest Macintosh of its day, it boasts a CPU running at a “wicked fast” 40 MHz. It gains an additional speed bump from a pair of Apple-designed, application-specific integrated circuits. Prices start at $9,870 and run up to $12,000 — the equivalent of $23,434 to $28,492 in 2024 money!
February 22, 2001: The iMac Special Edition, sporting wild designs that would make a hippie happy, puts a wacky face on the computer that saved Apple’s bacon at the turn of the century. The Flower Power iMac and Blue Dalmatian iMac evoke tie-dye shirts or other unconventional ’60s-era imagery.
A far cry from the super-serious, aluminum-heavy industrial design that will come to define Apple in coming years, these colorfully patterned iMacs stand out as some of the most irreverent computers Cupertino ever dreamed up. (C’mon, when was a real Dalmatian blue?)
Under the consciously tacky exteriors, a pretty darn great iMac G3 hums along.