How Apple Changed The Computer Industry?

By Elizabeth

First Published on March 27, 2017 | RECENTLY REVISED

This article is 4 years old.

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Apple was born as a computer company only, named Apple Computer. inc, in April 1976. It was found by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. The company was only focused on developing and selling personal computers and its software. Then, as their focus company has been expanded, they changed its named to Apple. inc. Apple is well-known as a company that changed the phone industry through their iPhone. But, before that happened, Apple changed the computer industry first. How did they do that?

How Apple changed The Computer Industry?

GUI And Mouse

There are different opinions on how Apple changed the computer industry. In my opinion, it started with the launch of Macintosh on January 24, 1984. It was the first mass-market personal computer that came with Graphic User Interface (GUI) and mouse. Its arrival didn’t only change the development of the computer industry in that era, but it was also phenomenal. Though, it eventually became one of the Apple products that failed in the market due to its very high price ($2,495).

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The Super Bowl Commercial

Under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple always presented extraordinary things, both products and the launching events. They started this tradition since the Macintosh event in 1984 with so-called “Super Bowl Commercial”.

The First PC That Came With Icons

Macintosh was the first personal computer using icons to operate the system. Before it came, all computers were text-based. Now, we can see all the computers using icons as commands. The icons of Macintosh was designed by Susan Kare, who also created icons for Microsoft, Facebook, etc.

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Backlit Keyboard And Light Sensors

Apple always comes up with new ideas and innovations. When it comes to personal computers, they were the first one to implement a backlit keyboard on laptops. Back in 2003, Apple announced the 17-inch and 12.1-inch PowerBooks which adopted the new technologies: a backlit keyboard and light sensors. It was the first laptop that featured those technologies.

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Those technologies allow you to adjust the light on the keyboard if it’s needed. It’s useful when you are typing in a low-light environment. Now, we can see a backlit keyboard and light sensors laptops are everywhere.

Modern All-in-one PC

Today’s all-in-one PC was inspired by iMac G5. It wasn’t the first all-in-one PC in the world but it brought the inspiration of the modern version. In 1977, there was Commodore PET which came with the idea of building a full-featured computer. It was successful in the U.S and Canadian markets, but the design couldn’t be accepted in the modern era. Then, in 2004, Apple introduced a better version of all-in-one PC, called iMac G5. It was more compact and really charming with its flat screen.

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iPad

The Post-PC era was one of Steve Jobs dreams. He believed people will use tablets to do their work, instead of PCs. His dream was manifested on iPad. Even though it didn’t replace PC completely, Apple managed to change the computer industry.