- Tim Cook writes a letter celebrating Apple’s 50th anniversary
- Apple has announced plans to celebrate
- There are few details so far
Apple is ready to celebrate 50 years of innovation. The company has been tight-lipped about how it will mark this half-century milestone, but now it and longtime CEO Tim Cook are opening up a bit about the plans, how Apple views the last 50 years and what comes next.
“Apple was founded on the simple notion that technology should be personal, and that belief — radical at the time — changed everything,” Cook wrote in a letter on Apple.com to mark the occasion (the official date is April 1).
In the letter, Cook credits Apple customers with defining the story of Apple: “In your hands, the tools we make have improved lives and sometimes even saved them. And that’s what inspires us — not what technology can do alone, but everything you can do with it.”
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While Cook and Apple are often hesitant to look back, the company finally revealed in a press release a skeleton plan to celebrate 50 years of Apple:
“In the coming weeks, Apple and its global community will celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, recognizing the creativity, innovation and impact that people around the world have made possible with Apple technology.”
What that means, however, is open to interpretation. Apple will definitely have some decorations and displays in the store celebrating the history. However, I have asked Apple if Cook will host an Apple Park event for employees. I’ll update this post if I hear back.
Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple has produced some of the most important technological products of the information age. From the changing Macintosh to the music-carrying iPod, and then the only cell phone ever described as the “Jesus Phone,” which became the iPhone. While less powerful, the iPad has had the longevity and arguably the impact of other Apple products.
Under Cook’s guidance (he took over as CEO in 2011 after Jobs’ untimely death), Apple has become a leader in wearables (Apple Watch) and built a formidable service business. However, the jury is still out on Cook’s biggest swing, its expensive spatial computer, the Vision Pro.
It could be argued, in fact, I’ve seen these arguments on Reddit, that the company Jobs and Wozniak founded and that Jobs ran is distinctly different than what Cook runs today.
Reddit user Raveen396 wrote: “Apple under Cook is a much more mature company… not trying to be [a] corporate bootlicker here, but comparing Apple under Jobs and Apple under Cook is like comparing two completely different companies.”
I’m not sure you’d expect anything different from a company entering its second half-century. Leadership is changing and the world and its customers are changing around it. Apple under Cook has made several adjustments to accommodate the market and customers wherever they live.
Still, there’s a continuum, and I’d like to see it celebrated with Apple’s own gift for elevated flair.
I envision museum-like installations in Apple Stores around the world (currently more than 500) displaying early products and their prototypes. 50 years is the perfect moment for Apple to pull back the curtain on its notorious privacy, if only a little bit.
Neo may mean more than you think
While some were hoping for a big product reveal during the 50th anniversary celebration, I think the MacBook Neo may have won that moment. It’s the first new Mac in over a decade and potentially opens up MacBooks to a whole new market.
Still, it’s not exactly the kind of earth-shattering innovation we were hoping for. A tease of the iPhone Fold, now that would be something. Like a first look at Apple iGlasses.
We know that Apple is working on a foldable handset or tablet, and that augmented-reality smart glasses are also somewhere on the product roadmap. What if Apple broke with tradition and gave us a sneak peek at what Apple’s labs are working on right now?
It’s not just that I want this; Apple might need it. Apple’s next 50 years are not a given.
Competition is fierce and people are less positive about technology than they were when Apple first arrived, perhaps more now than ever. They need something exciting to look forward to.
In its press release, Apple’s statement about the future is promising but vague: “Apple will continue to innovate in breakthrough silicon, life-enriching products, transformative software and services that improve people’s lives, while deepening its commitments to environmental responsibility, education and community impact around the world.”
What people want, however, is to believe that Apple at 50 is as innovative and interested in risk-taking as it was in 1976.
I think Cook understands that, and the end of his letter is a signal that Apple isn’t done being crazy:
“If you’ve taught us anything, it’s that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
So here’s to the crazy ones.”
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