Apple's 10 biggest innovations, from the first iMac to Apple Intelligence

Apple is having another breakthrough moment in its long history as a technology innovator. The company unveiled its AI project, Apple Intelligence — which will bring ChatGPT and a host of other AI features to the next iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems — at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference in early June.

Apple’s AI updates are just the first phase of a new era of AI-powered telecommunications dominated by “IntelliPhones” rather than smartphones, analysts say. And, given the iPhone’s popularity, it’s a market Apple is poised to dominate.

Apple’s AI features will be available in beta mode later this year. But before the company goes full-on AI, Quartz takes you through Apple’s biggest innovations through the last four decades.

Lisa and Mac (1983-1984)

In 1983, Apple hosted its first Worldwide Developers Conference, where it debuted its desktop computer. Lisa was the first commercial personal computer to use what’s called a graphical user interface, meaning users could select icons and buttons on their devices’ screens for the first time rather than typing commands on a keyboard.

“Lisa makes liberal use of pictures and symbols on the computer screen instead of typing complex commands on a keyboard. One can even draw pictures,” wrote a New York Times reporter at the time.

Just one year later, in 1984, then-CEO Steve Jobs debuted the Apple Macintosh — which differed from Lisa because it centered on the use of computer software applications rather than documents — through a now-iconic Super Bowl ad.

iMac (1998)

Even though Apple wasn’t the first company to make so-called “all-in-one” computers that combined all its necessary hardware — speakers, a central processing unit (the “brain” of a computer), the screen, and storage — it popularized the product. The iMac G3 debuted in 1998 in Apple’s now-classic, translucent “bondi blue” color, making tech “Chic. Not Geek,” according to one of the company’s advertisements at the time.

Wifi-enabled iBook (1999)

Even though the first laptop to market was the Osborne 1, created by Adam Osborne in 1981, Apple’s 1999 “iBook” — which it called an “iMac to go” — was the first one to support wireless internet connectivity.

iPod (2001)

Apple wasn’t the first company to put mp3’s on a handheld device, but it was the first that managed to pack 1,000 songs on such a device. The iPod and its impressive 10-hour battery life debuted in 2001, and NPR said at the time that the product marked “a quantum leap in listening” to music and more. Apple sold an estimated 450 million of the devices before the iPod went out of production in 2022.

iPhone (2007)

When Jobs debuted the iPhone, it marked a new era of smartphones. The phone’s rivals at the time from Samsung, Blackberry, and Treo had keyboards, but the iPhone was fully touchscreen. Apple sold a little more than 6 million of the first generation iPhones before retiring them a year later in favor of its next model. The company has gone on to release 42 models of the iPhone. As of January 2024, Apple had sold more than 2 billion iPhones and holds a 20% share of the worldwide smartphone market, according to CNBC.

iPad (2010)

Apple revealed its $499 touchscreen tablet, the iPad, in 2010. The company sold more than 300,000 of the devices on the first day of pre-ordering that year. “It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world — it’s going to be a game changer,” Jobs said at the time.

AirPods (2016)

Apple launched its bluetooth headphones in 2016, but it took a while for AirPods to get into consumers’ hands because of technological issues. The Wall Street Journal called the delay a “rare misstep” for Apple at the time. But the company quickly put those initial hurdles in its rearview: By 2019, the company had captured 60% of the wireless earbud market.

Vision Pro (2023)

Apple marked its first big leap into virtual reality with the Vision Pro headsets it unveiled at the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference. The device sold out during pre-ordering earlier this year, but sales quickly slowed to a snail’s pace once they became available in-store.

This week, Apple reportedly shelved the next model of its upscale Vision headset to focus on creating a cheaper version of the augmented reality device.

Apple Intelligence (2024)

After a long silence on how Apple would catch up to competitors on artificial intelligence, CEO Tim Cook revealed the company’s simply-named AI initiative, Apple Intelligence, at its Worldwide Developers Conference. Customers will be able to use a host of new Apple AI tools on the latest iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems beginning this fall. Apple is also partnering with OpenAI to make its artificial intelligence ChatGPT 4-o available on its devices. Apple said it will partner with other AI providers, including Google, in the future.

Still, Apple is a long way from catching up to rivals on AI. Experts have mixed opinions about whether Apple will succeed and, if it does, when that success will finally pay off.