- Tim Cook writes a letter to celebrate 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 quiet about how it will mark this half-century milestone, but now it and its former CEO, Tim Cook, are opening up a bit about the plans, how Apple views the past 50 years, and what’s coming 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 posted on Apple.com to mark the occasion (the official date is April 1).
In the letter, Cook credits Apple customers for defining Apple’s story: “In their hands, the tools we make have improved lives and sometimes even saved them. And that’s what inspires us: not what technology can do on its own, but everything that can be done 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 Apple’s 50th anniversary:
“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 is open to interpretation, however. Apple will surely have some decorations and displays in stores that celebrate history. However, I asked Apple if Cook will host an event at Apple Park for employees. I will update this post if I hear back.
Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple has produced some of the most important technology products of the information age. From the groundbreaking Macintosh to the iPod with music, and then the only mobile phone ever casually described as the “Jesus Phone,” which became the iPhone. While it had a minor impact, the iPad has had the longevity and arguably the impact of other Apple products.
Under Cook (he took over as CEO in 2011 after Jobs’ untimely death), Apple has become a leader in wearable devices (Apple Watch) and built a formidable services business. However, the jury is still out on Cook’s biggest twist: his expensive space computer, the Vision Pro.
One could argue—in fact, I’ve seen these arguments on Reddit—that the company that Jobs and Wozniak founded and that Jobs ran is clearly different from the one Cook runs today.
Reddit user Raveen396 wrote: “Apple under Cook is a much more mature company… I’m not trying to be.” [a] “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 would expect anything different from a company entering its second half-century. Leadership changes and the world and your customers change around you. Apple under Cook has made numerous adjustments to meet the market and customers wherever they live.
Still, there’s a continuity I’d like to see celebrated with Apple’s gift for elevated style.
I imagine museum-like installations in Apple stores around the world (currently more than 500), showing the first products and their prototypes. 50 years is the perfect time for Apple to draw back the curtain on its vaunted privacy, even if just a little.
Neo May Mean More Than You Think
While some expected a big product reveal during the 50th anniversary celebrations, I think the MacBook Neo may have won that moment. It’s the first new Mac in more than a decade and potentially opens MacBooks to a whole new market.
Still, it’s not exactly the kind of revolutionary innovation we were hoping for. A preview of the iPhone Fold, that would be something. As is a first look at Apple’s iGlasses.
We know that Apple is working on a foldable phone 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 tough and people are less positive about technology than when Apple arrived, perhaps more so 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 innovative 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.”
However, what people want is to believe that Apple, at 50 years old, is as innovative and as interested in taking risks as it was in 1976.
I think Cook understands this, and the end of his letter is a sign that Apple hasn’t stopped going crazy:
“If you’ve taught us anything, it’s that the people crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
So let’s drink to the crazy ones.”
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