There is a certain aura about an event featuring Apple. An expectation that one is going to see something path-breaking and unusual, no matter how many pages leaksters might have written about it. There is a good reason for this expectation. Over the years, the Cupertino company has often released radical and revolutionary products and services at these events that have not only done well commercially but actually changed our lives.
So while we gear up for another Apple event, here is a look back at six iconic Apple events that changed the world:
'Why 1984 Won't Be Like 1984': The Macintosh Cometh (1984)
The launch that started the whole Apple event legend was actually made at an Apple shareholder meeting on January 24, 1984. It was held at the Flint Centre near Apple's campus in Cupertino and had an audience of more than two thousand people. It set a whole new template for how tech products would be launched.
Dressed in a formal suit, a 29-year-old Steve Jobs introduced the world to Apple's Macintosh computer. And he did so by positioning the Macintosh as the hero that would rescue the world from the clutches of IBM (Big Blue). It was one of the first instances of storytelling at a launch, with Jobs quoting Bob Dylan and invoking George Orwell's prediction that 1984 would see one 'Big Brother' dominating the world and crushing individual freedom. To drive the point home, he then showcased Ridley Scott's iconic 1984 ad for the Macintosh, which many still consider to be the greatest tech ad ever made.
Jobs introduced the Macintosh not just as a computer, but as an instrument of personal freedom against a big corporation - Apple’s David standing up to IBM's Goliath. It might all seem a little over dramatic today but back at that time, when Corporate presentations and launches were supposed to be routine, formal affairs loaded with adjectives and cliches, it was beyond radical. And when Jobs pulled out the Macintosh from a canvas bag, switched it on, and the computer started speaking, a new era in tech events had begun. Tech events would never be the same again. And neither would Apple.
'Thank You, Bill': The Return Of Steve Jobs (1997)
There was no product launched on August 6, 1997, in the Macworld keynote. It was a grim time for Apple and many observers felt that the company was doomed. Steve Jobs was recalled to the brand he had been thrown out from in 1985 and was introduced actually as the CEO of Pixar. "I am not going to be talking about products today," Jobs began, and then, for close to forty minutes, spoke about the problems facing Apple and how the company would find its way through the tech weeds that had trapped it.
In what remains one of the most amazing moments in tech history, Jobs actually thanked Apple's arch-rival Microsoft for helping out the company in its time of need and even got Bill Gates on the big screen. A shocked crowd jeered and booed, but Jobs gently persisted. He rounded it off not with a promise of new products, but with the famous Think Different ad campaign.
The message was clear: Apple was in trouble but would go back to its roots. Oh, and that a certain Steve Paul Jobs was back as the boss at Cupertino. The tech world would change. There were no new products, but without this keynote, there would probably have never been an iPhone, an iPod or AirPods. There might have been no Apple.
'One Thousand Songs… In Your Pocket': The iPod Tunes In (2001)
By 2001, Apple had managed to survive its crisis, and Steve Jobs was very much in charge. But it had not really done anything really revolutionary in terms of products, although the iMac and iBook were design wonders. On 23 October 2001, Apple showed the world it had not lost its mojo with the launch of the iPod.
It was a bold move by Apple, which was known mainly for its computers (the invite for the event read "Hint: it is not a Mac"), and once again, it was down to Jobs to convince the world that the new product was worth it. It was, of course, the iconic iPod. For about an hour, Jobs spoke about the new product, how it worked, and the importance of music in our lives ("Music's a part of everyone's life — everyone. Music's been around forever. It will always be around").
He elaborated on how the iPod stored music, how it could be operated by just one hand thanks to an innovative click wheel, and of course, he unleashed a phrase that is now part of tech legend: "If we're going to keep one thousand songs on iPod and it fits in your pocket, how do we do this? How do we possibly do this?" That day, he told us exactly how.
And the world of music was never the same again.
'An iPod. A Phone. An Internet Communicator': The iPhone Calls (2007)
Not too many know that the iPhone was not the first phone launched by Steve Jobs. That was actually the Moto ROKR in 2005 (https://youtu.be/jt7mbW8ov_U?si=6QyNBYeFJbHRKr4v), when Apple collaborated with Motorola. That effort had not gone down too well, so Apple struck out on its own and launched its own phone.
Jobs revealed it to the world on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld conference, in what many consider to be the greatest tech presentation ever. Jobs walked the audience through the device, stressing its unique interface, poking fun at styluses and the competition, and time and time again, bringing forth the fact that what they were going to see was something unique.
"An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator. An iPod, a phone… are you getting it?" he told an enraptured audience, and then added: "These are not three separate devices: This is one device. We are calling it iPhone." Jobs went on to stress the magical qualities of the phone, from its unique swipe-to-unlock mechanism to an all-touch interface.
He even prank-called Starbucks and ordered 4,000 lattes by just tapping on Google Maps — revolutionary at that time!
Even the presentation crashing did not put him off his stride. Apple's most successful product had arrived.
'A Notebook In An Envelope': MacBook Air Is Delivered (2008)
It had been kicking up a storm with its iPod and iPhone, but Apple had not really rattled the computer cage much since its launch of the Macintosh in 1984, although the iMac and iBook had grabbed some attention.
On January 15, 2008, at Macworld, the Cupertino brand changed notebooks forever with the launch of the MacBook Air. It was incredibly light and slim and yet came with a full-fledged keyboard and a good display, and was actually made of aluminium.
It was a brilliantly designed product, but Steve Jobs took it to the level of magical by stressing its utter portability. Twenty-four years ago, Apple had shocked the world by bringing the Macintosh on stage in a canvas bag. On this day, Steve Jobs brought the MacBook Air in a standard office envelope.
Yes, the presentation was awesome, but the audience was sold the moment Jobs took the Air out of the envelope, and the air out of the competition. To stress how light it was, Jobs repeatedly held the Air in one hand while speaking about it. When the dust settled, notebooks had no option but to hit the tech gym, lose those pounds, pump aluminium and fit into that tight-fitting office stationery.
'Make It Anything You Want': The World Pops The iPad Tablet (2010)
On 27 January 2010, Apple started the tablet revolution. It did so by launching the iPad. And in terms of launches, it was perhaps one of the best we had ever seen from the Cupertino company. Jobs was at the front and centre of it, of course, but other executives also took their places on the stage, stressing the ease of use of the device, reclining on sofas as they used it.
Most notably, the iPad was not positioned as a large phone or a touchscreen notebook, but as a third screen that came between them.
There was not much talk of specs, just the convenience that the new product would bring to our lives, being easy to carry around and use — "Make it anything you want", Jobs would say, highlighting its versatility. There were no legendary lines, no magical flourishes, just pure functionality on stage.
Apple had set out to create a whole new product category, and by the end of the launch, had done just that. Not by talking about specs or highlighting design but simply by showing how easily something could fit into our daily routines. The world was soon popping tablets!