Original synthesis to sit alongside the encyclopedia article below. Not part of Wikipedia; verify facts on Wikipedia when precision matters.
Apple Inc. is the world's largest public technology company by market capitalization, headquartered in Cupertino, California, US. Founded in 1976, it operates a tightly integrated premium ecosystem spanning consumer hardware, proprietary operating systems, and high-margin digital services, with more than 2.5 billion active devices in use globally as of 2026. Led by CEO Tim Cook, the company holds unmatched brand loyalty in the premium consumer tech space, with industry-leading gross margins for its services segment.
Key moments
April 1976Company founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, releasing the Apple I personal computer kit
January 1984Launched the original Macintosh, the first mass-market personal computer with a graphical user interface and mouse
January 2007Unveiled the first iPhone, creating the modern smartphone category and reshaping global mobile computing
August 2011Tim Cook succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO shortly before Jobs' passing, cementing Apple's services and wearables expansion strategy
February 2024Launched Apple Vision Pro, the company's first mass-market spatial computing mixed reality headset
March 2026Celebrated its 50th founding anniversary, releasing the iPhone 17 series, M4-chip iPad Air line, and budget MacBook Neo to mark the milestone
Apple holds a uniquely defensible market position relative to its main competitors Samsung Electronics, Microsoft, and Alphabet, differentiated by its premium pricing power and closed ecosystem lock-in. While rivals compete on hardware specs and open platform flexibility, Apple prioritizes cross-device seamless interoperability that raises switching costs for its massive installed user base. Its long-term revenue mix shift to high-recurring services also insulates the company from volatile global hardware demand cycles that hit peer firms far harder.
Captures approximately 70% of the global $1000+ premium smartphone market, outperforming Samsung by a wide margin in high-margin flagship segment sales
Reports ~76% gross margin for its services business, nearly double the average hardware segment margin of its top consumer electronics rivals
Leads the emerging spatial computing market via Vision Pro, building a new exclusive software category to counter competing mixed reality offerings from Microsoft and Meta
Faces near-term competitive pressure as its on-device generative AI rollout lags behind recent 2025-2026 releases from Alphabet and Microsoft, eroding a small share of power user interest
Apple Inc. stands as one of the world’s most valuable and influential technology brands, evolving from an early personal computer startup founded in 1976 to a leading hardware, software, and services ecosystem operator by 2026. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the brand has built a global reputation for innovative, premium products and seamless integrated experiences that span consumer electronics, computing, wearable tech, and digital services.
Core to Apple’s brand strength is its tightly closed ecosystem, which unifies hardware like the iPhone, Mac, and iPad with software platforms such as iOS and macOS, alongside subscription services including the App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud. This integrated model has driven exceptional customer loyalty, allowing the brand to maintain premium pricing power while retaining a dedicated global user base.
As of 2026, Apple is actively transitioning into an AI-first ecosystem leader, integrating generative and predictive AI across its product lines to enhance user experiences and expand its service revenue streams, which now represent a growing share of its overall annual earnings. This strategic shift positions the brand to continue leading the global tech industry through the next wave of digital innovation.
Brand Leadership
Score: 98/100
Apple consistently ranks among the top global brands by industry leadership, driving innovation in mobile computing, silicon design, and consumer tech ecosystems. Its iPhone line remains a benchmark for premium smartphones, and its custom M-series chips have set new standards for performance in personal computers and mobile devices, earning widespread industry respect and market dominance in multiple product categories.
Customer Interaction & Loyalty
Score: 95/100
Apple’s brand relies on deeply engaged, loyal customers who actively participate in its ecosystem. High retention rates for subscription services like Apple Music and iCloud, combined with positive feedback for its in-store retail experiences and customer support, foster strong ongoing interaction between the brand and its user base, with a large community of fans creating user-generated content and advocacy for the brand.
Growth Momentum
Score: 92/100
As of 2026, Apple maintains strong positive growth momentum, driven by expanding service revenue and strategic investments in emerging technologies including spatial computing and generative AI. The brand’s transition to an AI-integrated ecosystem opens new revenue opportunities, while ongoing global market expansion and product iteration support consistent quarterly and annual revenue growth.
Brand Stability
Score: 96/100
Apple has maintained a stable, premium brand identity for decades, with a strong balance sheet and consistent operational performance. The brand has avoided major, long-term reputation crises, and its integrated ecosystem creates high barriers to customer switching, supporting long-term brand stability and predictable financial outcomes.
Brand Age & Legacy
Score: 94/100
Founded in 1976, Apple has a 50-year brand legacy shaped by iconic innovation and the vision of its co-founders. Over decades, the brand has evolved through multiple technological shifts, from personal computers to smartphones to AI ecosystems, building a timeless brand identity that resonates with multiple generations of consumers.
Industry Position & Profile
Score: 98/100
Apple operates across multiple high-value global tech sectors, including consumer electronics, personal computing, wearable devices, and digital services. The brand holds leading market positions in several of these categories, and its closed ecosystem model has become a widely studied blueprint for integrated tech brands, giving it a strong industry profile and significant influence over global tech standards.
Global Brand Reach
Score: 95/100
Apple has a truly global brand presence, with retail stores, authorized partners, and localized services in nearly every major global market. The brand adapts its products and marketing to local cultural and regulatory contexts, generating balanced revenue across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions, making it one of the most globally recognized technology brands.
Artificial intelligence can assist with brand value reasoning and analysis; all provided valuation figures are for illustrative purposes only. For fully audited, official brand valuation data, please contact the World Brand Lab directly.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley, best known for its consumer electronics, software and online services.Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Company by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, the company was incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. the following year. It was renamed to its current name in 2007 as the company had expanded its focus from computers to consumer electronics. Apple is one of the Big Tech companies.
The company was founded to market Wozniak's Apple I personal computer.Its successor, the Apple II, became one of the first successful mass-produced microcomputers.Apple introduced the Lisa in 1983 and the Macintosh in 1984 as some of the first computers to use a graphical user interface and a mouse.By 1985, internal conflicts led to Jobs leaving the company to form NeXT and Wozniak withdrawing to other ventures; John Sculley was CEO for over a decade.In the 1990s, Apple lost considerable market share in the PC industry to the lower-priced Wintel duopoly of Intel-powered
PC clones
running
Windows
, and neared bankruptcy by 1997.
To overhaul its market strategy, Apple acquired NeXT, bringing Jobs back to the company.
Under his leadership, Apple returned to profitability by introducing the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices; creating the iTunes Store; launching the "Think different" advertising campaign; and opening the Apple Store retail chain.
Jobs resigned in 2011 for health reasons and died the same year; he was succeeded as CEO by Tim Cook.
Apple's product lineup includes portable and home hardware like the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods; several in-house operating systems such as iOS, iPadOS, and macOS; and various software and services including Apple Pay and iCloud, as well as multimedia streaming services like Apple Music and Apple TV.Since 2011, Apple has for the most part been the world's largest company by market capitalization, and, as of 2024, is the largest manufacturing company by revenue, the fourth-largest PC vendor, the largest vendor of tablet computers, and the largest vendor of mobile phones.Apple became the first publicly traded US company to be valued at over $1 trillion in 2018, and, as of October 2025, is valued at just over $4 trillion.
Apple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne as a partnership.[6] The company's first product was the Apple I, a computer designed and hand-built entirely by Wozniak.[7] To finance its creation, Jobs sold his Volkswagen Bus, and Wozniak sold his HP-65 calculator.[8] Neither received the full selling price, but together they earned.Wozniak debuted the first prototype Apple I at the Homebrew Computer Club in July 1976.[9] The Apple I was sold as a motherboard with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips—a base kit concept which was not yet marketed as a complete personal computer.[10] It was priced soon after debut for .[11] Wozniak later said he was unaware of the coincidental mark of the beast in the number 666, and that he came up with the price because he liked "repeating digits".[12]
Apple Computer, Inc. was incorporated in Cupertino, California,[1] on January 3, 1977,[13] without Wayne, who had left and sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800 only twelve days after having co-founded it.[14] Multimillionaire Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of to Jobs and Wozniak during the incorporation of Apple.[15] During the first five years of operations, revenue grew exponentially, doubling about every four months.Between September 1977 and September 1980, yearly sales grew from $775,000 to million, an average annual growth rate of 533%.[16]
The Apple II, also designed by Wozniak, was introduced on April 16, 1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire.It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because of its character cell-based color graphics and open architecture.The Apple I and early Apple II models used ordinary audio cassette tapes as storage devices, which were superseded by the 5 1/4-inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II in 1978.[17]
The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first killer application of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheetprogram released in 1979.VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II: compatibility with the office, but Apple II market share remained behind home computers made by competitors such as Atari, Commodore, and Tandy.[18][19]
On December 12, 1980, Apple went public with an initial public offering (IPO) on the fully electronic Nasdaq stock market, selling 4.6 million shares at $22 per share ($.10 per share when adjusting for stock splits as of September 3, 2022),[13] generating over $100 million, which was more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956.[20] By the end of the day, around 300 millionaires were created, including Jobs and Wozniak, from a stock price of $29 per share[21] and a market cap of $1.778 billion.[20][21]
1980–1990: Success with Macintosh
In November and December 1979, Steve Jobs and Apple employees, including Jef Raskin, visited Xerox PARC, where they observed the Xerox Alto, featuring a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse.Jobs had negotiated with Xerox in advance to gain access to PARC's technology, in exchange for the right to purchase $1 million worth of Apple's pre-IPO shares.This visit influenced Jobs to implement a GUI in Apple's products starting with the Apple Lisa in 1983, though he was forced out of the Lisa project during the early development. Despite being pioneering as a mass-marketed GUI computer, the Lisa suffered from high costs and limited software options, leading to commercial failure.
Following his removal from the Lisa team, Jobs joined the company's Macintosh division in January 1981.The Macintosh had been envisioned by Jef Raskin as a low-cost, portable computer, and Wozniak had helped its development until a plane crash in early 1981 forced him to step back from the project.[22] Wozniak's absence allowed Jobs to take over the project and he redefined the Macintosh as a mouse-driven GUI machine similar to the Lisa.[23] Wozniak speculates that Jobs' sense of rivalry towards the Lisa project was the driving force behind this sudden shift in direction.[23]
1990–1997: Decline and restructuring
The company pivoted its strategy and, in October 1990, introduced three lower-cost models: the Macintosh Classic, the Macintosh LC, and the Macintosh IIsi, all of which generated significant sales due to pent-up demand.In 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook, a commercially successful laptop whose clamshell design influenced later notebook computers.The same year, Apple introduced System 7, a major upgrade to the Macintosh operating system, adding color to the interface and introducing new networking capabilities.
The success of the lower-cost Macs and the PowerBook brought increasing revenue.[39] For some time, Apple was doing very well, introducing fresh new products at increasing profits.The magazine MacAddict named the period between 1989 and 1991 as the "first golden age" of the Macintosh.[40] The success of lower-cost consumer Macs, especially the LC, cannibalized higher-priced machines. To address this, management introduced several new brands, selling largely identical machines at different price points, for different markets: the high-end Quadra series, the mid-range Centris series, and the consumer-marketed Performa series.This led to significant consumer confusion among so many models.[42]
1997–2007: Return to profitability
The NeXT acquisition was finalized on February 9, 1997,[55] and the board brought Jobs back to Apple as an advisor. On July 9, 1997, Jobs staged a boardroom coup, which resulted in Amelio's resignation after overseeing a three-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. The board named Jobs as interim CEO and he immediately reviewed the product lineup. Jobs canceled 70% of models, ending 3,000 jobs and paring to the core of its computer offerings.[56]
The next month, in August 1997, Steve Jobs convinced Microsoft to make a $150-million investment in Apple and a commitment to continue developing Mac software.[57] This was seen as an "antitrust insurance policy" for Microsoft which had recently settled with the Department of Justice over anti-competitive practices in the United States v. Microsoft Corp. case.[58] Around then, Jobs donated Apple's internal library and archives to Stanford University, to focus more on the present and the future rather than the past.
2007–2011: Success with mobile devices
During his keynote speech at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced the renaming of Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple Inc., because the company had broadened its focus from computers to consumer electronics.[85] This event also saw the announcement of the iPhone[86] and the Apple TV.[87] The company sold 270,000 first-generation iPhones during the first 30 hours of sales,[88] and some industry commentators described the device as "a game changer for the industry".[89]
In an article posted on Apple's website on February 6, 2007, Jobs wrote that Apple would be willing to sell music on the iTunes Store without digital rights management, thereby allowing tracks to be played on third-party players if record labels would agree to drop the technology.
2011–2020: Post-Jobs era, new devices
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs died, marking the end of an era for Apple.[112] The next major product announcement by Apple was on January 19, 2012, when Apple's Phil Schiller introduced iBooks Textbooks for iOS and iBooks Author for Mac OS X in New York City.[113] Jobs stated in the biography Steve Jobs that he wanted to reinvent the textbook industry and education.[114]
From 2011 to 2012, Apple released the iPhone 4S[115] and iPhone 5,[116] which featured improved cameras, an intelligent software assistant named Siri, and cloud-synced data with iCloud; the
2020–2024: Transition from Intel CPUs, legal compliance and settlements
During its annual WWDC keynote speech on June 22, 2020, Apple announced it would move away from Intel processors, and the Mac would transition to processors developed in-house.[143] The announcement was expected by industry analysts, and it has been noted that Macs featuring Apple's processors would allow for big increases in performance over current Intel-based models.[144] On November 10, 2020, the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and the Mac Mini became the first Macs powered by an Apple-designed processor, the Apple M1.[145]
In April 2022, it was reported that Samsung Electro-Mechanics would be collaborating with Apple on its M2 chip instead of LG Innotek.[146] Developer logs showed that at least nine Mac models with four different M2 chips were being tested.
2025–present: Domestic investment, integrating AI capabilities into products and challenges
In 2025, Apple undertook its largest investment initiative to date, announcing a commitment to spend over $500 billion in the United States over the following four years. This extensive strategy includes the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Houston to produce servers supporting Apple Intelligence, expansion of research and development in fields like silicon engineering and AI, and the establishment of a new advanced manufacturing academy in Detroit.The company also pledged to double its US Advanced Manufacturing Fund and increase collaboration with American suppliers, aiming to create tens of thousands of jobs related to R&D, AI, and manufacturing technologies.[164]
The software landscape at Apple underwent a transformation in 2025. At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple introduced the new "Liquid Glass" design language, rolled out unified system design updates across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and other platforms, and significantly expanded the capabilities of Apple Intelligence.According to Apple, these updates were intended to address previous criticisms of fragmented interfaces and to use on‑device and cloud‑based AI to improve privacy and user experience.[165][166]
Products
Since the company's founding and into the early 2000s, Apple primarily sold computers, which are marketed as Macintosh since the mid-1980s.Since then, the company has expanded its product categories to include various portable devices, starting with the now discontinued iPod (2001), and later the iPhone (2007) and iPad (2010).Apple also sells several other products that it categorizes as "Wearables, Home and Accessories", such as the Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod, and Apple Vision Pro. As of 2023, there were over 2 billion Apple devices in active use worldwide.
Commentators have described Apple devices as forming a cohesive ecosystem when used together,[177] but have criticized them for reduced functionality or fewer features available when used with competing devices, and for reliance on Apple's proprietary features, software, and services—an approach often described as a "walled garden".[178]Cory Doctorow, a Canadian intellectual property researcher and activist, characterized Apple's strategy of promoting interoperability with its own products while simultaneously reducing functionality for competitors as an anti-competitive practice.[179]
Mac
Mac, which is short for Macintosh, its official name until 1999, is Apple's line of personal computers that use the company's proprietary macOS operating system.Personal computers were Apple's original business line, but as of the end of 2024 they account for only about eight percent of the company's revenue.[180]
There are six Mac computer families in production:
Macs use Apple silicon chips, run the macOS operating system, and include Apple software like the Safari web browser, iMovie for home movie editing, GarageBand for music creation, and the iWork productivity suite.Apple also sells pro apps: Final Cut Pro for video production, Logic Pro for musicians and producers, and Xcode for software developers.Apple also sells a variety of accessories for Macs, including the Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard.The latest and current series of Mac include either the M5 Apple Silicon chip, expected to be released with a new Mac Studio model in mid-2026 and already available in the MacBook Pro and the A18 Pro-powered MacBook Neo, the company's first ostensibly 'entry level' MacBook product.
Marketing
Branding
According to Steve Jobs, the company's name was inspired by his visit to an apple farm while on a fruitarian diet.[191] Apple's first logo, designed by Ron Wayne, depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree.It was almost immediately replaced by Rob Janoff's "rainbow Apple", the now-familiar rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it.[192] This logo has been erroneously referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a reference to his method of suicide.[193]
On August 27, 1999,[194] Apple officially dropped the rainbow scheme and began to use single-color logos nearly identical in shape to the previous rainbow incarnation.An Aqua-themed version of the logo was used from 1997 until 2003, and a glass-themed version was used from 2007 until 2013.[195]
Apple evangelists were actively engaged by the company at one time, but this was after the phenomenon had already been firmly established.Apple evangelistGuy Kawasaki has called the brand fanaticism "something that was stumbled upon",[196] while Jonathan Ive claimed in 2014 that "people have an incredibly personal relationship" with Apple's products.[65]
Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012.[197] On September 30, 2013, Apple surpassed Coca-Cola to become the world's most valuable brand in the Omnicom Group's "Best Global Brands" report.[198]Boston Consulting Group has ranked Apple as the world's most innovative brand every year as of 2005.[199] As of January 2021, 1.65 billion Apple products were in active use.[200][201] In February 2023, that number exceeded 2 billion devices.[202][203]
Advertising
Apple's first slogan, "Byte into an Apple", was coined in the late 1970s.[205] From 1997 to 2002, the slogan "Think different" was used in advertising campaigns, and is still closely associated with Apple.[206] Apple also has slogans for specific product lines—for example, "iThink, therefore iMac" was used in 1998 to promote the iMac,[207] and "Say hello to iPhone" has been used in iPhone advertisements.[208] "Hello" was also used to introduce the original Macintosh, Newton, iMac ("hello (again)"), and iPod.[209]
From the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, with the 1984 Super Bowl advertisement to the more modern Get a Mac
Stores
The first Apple Stores were originally opened as two locations in May 2001 by then-CEO Steve Jobs,[213] after years of attempting but failing store-within-a-store concepts.[214] Seeing a need for improved retail presentation of the company's products, he began an effort in 1997 to revamp the retail program to get an improved relationship to consumers, and hired Ron Johnson in 2000.[214] Jobs relaunched Apple's online store in 1997,[215] and opened the first two physical stores in 2001.[213] The media initially speculated that Apple would fail,[216]
Market power
On March 16, 2020, France fined Apple €1.1 billion for colluding with two wholesalers to stifle competition and keep prices high by impeding independent resellers. The arrangement created aligned prices for Apple products such as iPads and personal computers for about half the French retail market. According to the French regulators, the abuses occurred between 2005 and 2017 but were first discovered after a complaint by an independent reseller, eBizcuss, in 2012.[222]
On August 13, 2020, Epic Games, the maker of the popular game Fortnite, sued Apple and Google after Fortnite was removed from Apple's and Google's app stores.The lawsuits came after Apple and Google blocked the game after it introduced a direct payment system that bypassed the fees that Apple and Google had imposed.[223] In September 2020, Epic Games founded the Coalition for App Fairness together with thirteen other companies, which aims for better conditions for the inclusion of apps in the app stores.[224] Later, in December 2020, Facebook
Privacy
Apple has publicly taken a pro-privacy stance, actively making privacy-conscious features and settings part of its conferences, promotional campaigns, and public image.[228] With its iOS 8 mobile operating system in 2014, the company started encrypting all contents of iOS devices through users' passcodes, making it impossible at the time for the company to provide customer data to law enforcement requests seeking such information.[229] With the popularity rise of cloud storage solutions, Apple began a technique in 2016 to do deep learning scans for facial data in photos on the user's local device and encrypting the content before uploading it to Apple's iCloud storage system.[230] It also introduced "differential privacy", a way to collect crowdsourced data from many users, while keeping individual users anonymous, in a system that Wired described as "trying to learn as much as possible about a group while learning as little as possible about any individual in it".[231] Users are explicitly asked if they want to participate, and can actively opt-in or opt-out.[232]
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends for Apple are, as of each financial year ending September 24:[243][244]
Leadership
Senior management
As of March 9, 2026, the management of Apple includes:[260]
Apple is one of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that bucked the traditional notions of corporate culture.Jobs often walked around the office barefoot even after Apple became a Fortune 500 company.By the time of the "1984" television advertisement, Apple's informal culture had become a key trait that differentiated it from its competitors.[262] According to a 2011 report in Fortune, this has resulted in a corporate culture more akin to a startup rather than a multinational corporation.[263] In a 2017 interview, Wozniak credited watching Star Trek and attending Star Trek conventions in his youth as inspiration for co-founding Apple.[264]
As the company has grown and been led by a series of differently opinionated chief executives, some media have suggested that it has lost some of its original character.[265]
Offices
Apple's world corporate headquarters are located in Cupertino, in the middle of California's Silicon Valley, at Apple Park, a massive circular groundscraper building with a circumference of 1 mi. The building opened in April 2017 and houses more than 12,000 employees.Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wanted Apple Park to look less like a business park and more like a nature refuge, and personally appeared before the Cupertino City Council in June 2011 to make the proposal, in his final public appearance before his death.
Apple also operates from the Apple Campus (also known by its address, 1 Infinite Loop), a grouping of six buildings in Cupertino that total 850000 ft2 located about 1 mi to the west of Apple Park.[286] The Apple Campus was the company's headquarters from its opening in 1993, until the opening of Apple Park in 2017.The buildings, located at 1–6 Infinite Loop, are arranged in a circular pattern around a central green space, in a design that has been compared to that of a university.
In addition to Apple Park and the Apple Campus, Apple occupies an additional thirty office buildings scattered throughout the city of Cupertino, including three buildings as prior headquarters: Stephens Creek Three from 1977 to 1978, Bandley One from 1978 to 1982, and Mariani One from 1982 to 1993.[287]
Litigation
Apple has been a participant in various legal proceedings and claims since it began operation.[294] In particular, Apple is known for and promotes itself as actively and aggressively enforcing its intellectual property interests.Some litigation examples include Apple v. Samsung, Apple v. Microsoft, Motorola Mobility v. Apple Inc., and Apple Corps v. Apple Computer. Apple has also had to defend itself against charges on numerous occasions of violating intellectual property rights. Most have been dismissed in the courts as shell companies known as patent trolls, with no evidence of actual use of patents in question.[295] On December 21, 2016, Nokia announced that in the US and Germany, it has filed a suit against Apple, claiming that the latter's products infringe on Nokia's patents.[296]
Most recently, in November 2017, the United States International Trade Commission announced an investigation into allegations of patent infringement in regards to Apple's remote desktop technology; Aqua Connect, a company that builds remote desktop software, has claimed that Apple infringed on two of its patents.
Lobbying
In 2025, Apple was one of the donors who funded the White House's East Wing demolition, and planned building of a ballroom.[301]
Finances
As of 2024, Apple was the world's fourth-largest personal computer vendor,[303] the largest vendor of tablet computers,[304] and the largest vendor of mobile phones.[305] It is a Big Tech company.[306][307]
In its fiscal year ending in September 2011, Apple reported a total of $108 billion in annual revenues—a significant increase from its 2010 revenues of $65 billion—and nearly $82 billion in cash reserves.[308] On March 19, 2012, Apple announced plans for a $2.65-per-share dividend beginning in the fourth quarter of 2012, per approval by its board of directors.[309]
The company's worldwide annual revenue in 2013 totaled $170 billion.[310] In May 2013, Apple entered the top ten of the Fortune 500 list of companies for the first time, rising 11 places above its 2012 ranking to take the sixth position.[311] As of 2016, Apple has around US$234 billion of cash and marketable securities, of which 90% is located outside the United States for tax purposes.[312]
Apple amassed 65% of all profits made by the eight largest worldwide smartphone manufacturers in quarter one of 2014, according to a report by Canaccord Genuity.In the first quarter of 2015, the company garnered 92% of all earnings.[313]
On April 30, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had cash reserves of $250 billion,[314] officially confirmed by Apple as specifically $256.8 billion a few days later.[315]
As of August 3, 2018, Apple was the largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization.On August 2, 2018, Apple became the first publicly traded US company to reach a $1 trillion market value,[316][317] and, as of October 2025, is valued at just over $4 trillion.[318] Apple was ranked No. 3 on the 2023 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by revenue.[319]
In July 2022, Apple reported an 11% decline in Q3 profits compared to 2021. Its revenue in the same period rose 2% year-on-year to $83 billion, though this figure was also lower than in 2021, where the increase was at 36%. The general downturn is reportedly caused by the slowing global economy and supply chain disruptions in China.[320] That year, Apple was one of the largest corporate spenders on research and development worldwide, with R&D expenditure amounting to over $27 billion.[321]
In May 2023, Apple reported a decline in its sales for the first quarter of 2023. Compared to that of 2022, revenue for 2023 fell by 3%. This is Apple's second consecutive quarter of sales decline. This fall is attributed to the slowing economy and consumers putting off purchases of iPads and computers due to increased pricing. However, iPhone sales held up with a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. According to Apple, demands for such devices were strong, particularly in Latin America and South Asia.[322]
Taxes
Apple has created subsidiaries in low-tax places such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the British Virgin Islands to cut the taxes it pays around the world.According to The New York Times, in the 1980s Apple was among the first tech companies to designate overseas salespeople in high-tax countries in a manner that allowed the company to sell on behalf of low-tax subsidiaries on other continents, sidestepping income taxes.In the late 1980s, Apple was a pioneer of an accounting technique known as the "Double Irish with a Dutch sandwich", which reduces taxes by routing profits through Irish subsidiaries and the Netherlands and then to the Caribbean.[323][324]
British Conservative Party Member of Parliament Charlie Elphicke published research on October 30, 2012,[325] which showed that some multinational companies, including Apple, were making billions of pounds of profit in the UK, but were paying an effective tax rate to the UK Treasury of only 3 percent, well below standard corporate tax rates.He followed this research by calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Environment
Apple Energy
Apple Energy, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple that sells solar energy.As of June 6, 2016, Apple's solar farms in California and Nevada have been declared to provide 217.9 megawatts of solar generation capacity.[352] Apple has received regulatory approval to construct a landfill gas energy plant in North Carolina to use the methane emissions to generate electricity.[353] Apple's North Carolina data center is already powered entirely by renewable sources.[354]
Energy and resources
In 2010, Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to directing consumers toward the greenest companies, gave Apple a score of 52 points out of a possible 100, which puts Apple in its top category "Striding".[355] This was an increase from May 2008, when Climate Counts only gave Apple 11 points out of 100, which placed the company last among electronics companies, at which time Climate Counts also labeled Apple with a "stuck icon", adding that Apple at the time was "a choice to avoid for the climate-conscious consumer".[356]
Following a Greenpeace protest, Apple released a statement on April 17, 2012, committing to ending its use of coal and shifting to 100% renewable clean energy.[357][358] By 2013, Apple was using 100% renewable energy to power its data centers.Overall, 75% of the company's power came from clean renewable sources.[359]
In May 2015, Greenpeace evaluated the state of the Green Internet and commended Apple on its environmental practices saying, "Apple's commitment to renewable energy has helped set a new bar for the industry, illustrating in very concrete terms that a 100% renewable Internet is within its reach, and providing several models of intervention for other companies that want to build a sustainable Internet."[360]
As of 2016, Apple states that 100% of its US operations run on renewable energy, 100% of Apple's data centers run on renewable energy and 93% of Apple's global operations run on renewable energy.[361] However, the facilities are connected to the local grid which usually contains a mix of fossil and renewable sources, so Apple uses carbon offsets for its electricity use.[362] The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) allows consumers to see the effect a product has on the environment. Each product receives a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rank depending on its efficiency and sustainability. Every Apple tablet, notebook, desktop computer, and display that EPEAT ranks achieves a Gold rating, the highest possible.Although Apple's data centers recycle water 35 times,[363] the increased activity in retail, corporate and data centers also increase the amount of water use to 573 e6usgal in 2015.[364]
During an event on March 21, 2016, Apple provided a status update on its environmental initiative to be 100% renewable in all of its worldwide operations. Lisa P. Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives who reports directly to CEO, Tim Cook, announced that as of March 2016, 93% of Apple's worldwide operations are powered with renewable energy.Also featured was the company's efforts to use sustainable paper in its product packaging; 99% of all paper used by Apple in the product packaging comes from post-consumerrecycled paper or sustainably managed forests, as the company continues its move to all paper packaging for all of its products.[365]
Apple announced on August 16, 2016, that Lens Technology, one of its major suppliers in China, has committed to power all its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by 2018.The commitment was a large step in Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint in China.[366] Apple also announced that all 14 of its final assembly sites in China are now compliant with UL's Zero Waste to Landfill validation.The standard, which started in January 2015, certifies that all manufacturing waste is reused, recycled, composted, or converted into energy (when necessary).Since the program began, nearly 140,000 metric tons of waste have been diverted from landfills.[367]
On July 21, 2020, Apple announced its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030.In the next 10 years, Apple will try to lower emissions with a series of innovative actions, including: low carbon product design, expanding energy efficiency, renewable energy, process and material innovations, and carbon removal.[368]
In June 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a report about an electronic computer manufacturing facility leased by Apple in 2015 in Santa Clara, California, code named Aria.[369][370] The EPA report stated that Apple was potentially in violation of federal regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).[369] According to a report from Bloomberg in 2018, the facility is used to develop microLED screens under the code name T159.[371][369][372] The inspection found that Apple was potentially mistreating waste as only subject to California regulations and that it had potentially miscalculated the effectiveness of Apple's activated carbon filters, which filter volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air.The EPA inspected the facility in August 2023 due to a tip from a former Apple employee who posted the report on
Toxins
Following further campaigns by Greenpeace,[373] in 2008, Apple became the first electronics manufacturer to eliminate all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in its complete product line.[374] In June 2007, Apple began replacing the cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlit LCDs in its computers with mercury-free LED-backlit LCD and arsenic-free glass, starting with the upgraded MacBook Pro.[375][376][377][378] Apple offers comprehensive and transparent information about the
Green bonds
In February 2016, Apple issued a -billion green bond (climate bond), the first ever of its kind by a US tech company.The green bond proceeds are dedicated to the financing of environmental projects.[385][386]
Supply chain
As of 2018, Apple used hardware components from 43 different countries.[387]
Apple products were made in the United States in Apple-owned factories until the late 1990s; however, as a result of outsourcing initiatives in the 2000s, almost all of its manufacturing is now handled abroad.According to a report by The New York Times, Apple insiders "believe the vast scale of overseas factories, as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers, have so outpaced their American counterparts that 'Made in the U.S.A.' is no longer a viable option for most Apple products".[388] South Korean firms, including Samsung and LG, worked closely with Apple as parts partners for the iMac, iPod, and iPhone before it increased its reliance on Taiwan and China.[389] Taiwanese Apple suppliers such as Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron, Quanta, and Compal Electronics established a sizable manufacturing presence in China.[390] By the 2020s, orders were shifting to Chinese firms such as to Luxshare, BYD Electronic, Goertek, and Wingtech.By 2021, Apple had more suppliers from China than Taiwan.[389] In March 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple would begin manufacturing iPhone models in India "over the next two months",[391] and in May, the Journal wrote that an Apple manufacturer had begun production of iPhone SE in the country,[392] In May 2017, the company announced a $1-billion funding project for "advanced manufacturing" in the United States,[393][394] In April 2019, Apple initiated manufacturing of iPhone 7 at its Bengaluru facility.[395]
The company's manufacturing, procurement, and logistics enable it to execute massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories. In 2011, Apple's profit margins were 40 percent, compared with between 10 and 20 percent for most other hardware companies. Cook's catchphrase to describe his focus on the company's operational arm is: "Nobody wants to buy sour milk."[396][397]
Labor force
Apple directly employs 147,000 workers including 25,000 corporate employees in Apple Park and across Silicon Valley.[398][399] The vast majority of its employees work at the over 500 retail Apple Stores globally.[400] Apple relies on a larger, outsourced workforce for manufacturing, particularly in China where Apple directly employs 10,000 workers across its retail and corporate divisions.In addition, one further million workers are contracted by Apple's suppliers to assemble Apple products, including Foxconn and Pegatron.[401]Zhengzhou Technology Park alone employs 350,000 Chinese workers in Zhengzhou to exclusively work on the iPhone.[402]
14.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Luo |first=Benny |date=September 12, 2013 |title=Ronald Wayne: On Co-founding Apple and Working with Steve Jobs |url=https://nextshark.com/ronald-wayne-interview |access-date=July 9, 2017 |website=Next Shark |archive-date=March 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330085628/https://nextshark.com/ronald-wayne-interview |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |first=Dan |last=Simon |title=The gambling man who co-founded Apple and left for $800 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/06/24/apple.forgotten.founder/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=June 24, 2010 |access-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-date=April 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410065148/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/06/24/apple.forgotten.fou^
18.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|book |last=Bagnall |first=Brian |title=On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore |publisher=Variant Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-9738649-0-8 |pages=109–112}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Remmer |first=Jeremy |date=2 November 2009 |title=Personal Computer Market Share: 1975–2004 |url=http://www.jeremyreimer.com/total_share.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606052317/http://jeremyreimer.com/postman/node/329 |archive-date=June 6, 2012 |work=Jeremy Reimer's Blob |access-date=28 March 2026}} The figures show Mac higher, but that is not a single model.
}}^
24.Brian Harvey. Is Programing Obsolete? Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, 1994, retrieved June 14, 2013^
28.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=October 12, 1999 |title=The greatest commercials of all time |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tv/magazine/990628/ftr6.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991012071246/http://www.tvguide.com/tv/magazine/990628/ftr6.asp |archive-date=October 12, 1999 |access-date=April 18, 2017 |website=[[TV Guide]]}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |first=Aaron |last=Taube |title=How The Greatest Super Bowl Ad Ever – Apple's '1984' – Almost Didn't Make It To Air |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-super-bowl-retrospective-2014-1 |website=[[Business Insider]] |date=January 22, 2014 |access-date=April 18, 2017 |archive-date=March 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330104642/https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-super-bowl-retrospe^
29.Linzmayer. 2004Swaine. 2014Walter Isaacson. Steve Jobs Simon and Schuster, 2015Hertzfeld. 2004^
74.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|news |last1=Griggs |first1=Brandon |last2=Leopold |first2=Todd |date=April 26, 2013 |title=How iTunes changed music, and the world |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/26/tech/web/itunes-10th-anniversary |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003319/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/26/tech/web/itunes-10th-anniversary |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Arthur |first=Charles |date=April 28, 2013 |title=iTunes is 10 years old today. Was it the best idea Apple ever had? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/apr/28/itunes-10-years-old-best-idea-apple-ever-had |access-date=May 24, 2017 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://w^
129.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=September 9, 2014 |title=Apple Watch announced: available for $349 early next year |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/9/6125873/apple-watch-smartwatch-announced |access-date=July 15, 2015 |website=[[The Verge]] |archive-date=September 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909183047/http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/9/6125873/apple-watch-smartwatch-announced |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=September 9, 2014 |title=The Apple Watch is poised to dominate the market for digital fitness trackers |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/9/6127839/apple-watch-healthkit-digital-health-fitness |access-date=July 15, 2015 |website=[[The Verge]] |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525110122/https://ww^
132.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Statt |first=Nick |date=January 26, 2016 |title=1 billion Apple devices are in active use around the world |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/26/10835748/apple-devices-active-1-billion-iphone-ipad-ios |access-date=May 24, 2017 |website=[[The Verge]] |archive-date=April 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404084144/https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/26/10835748/apple-devices-active-1-billion-iphone-ipad-ios |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|news |last=Rossignol |first=Joe |date=January 26, 2016 |title=Apple Now Has Over 1 Billion Active Devices Worldwide |work=[[MacRumors]] |url=https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/26/apple-1-billion-active-device-installed-base |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https:/^
186.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |title=Apple has sold a total of 500 million iPads in the last 10 years |url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/09/15/apple-has-sold-a-total-of-500-million-ipads-in-the-last-10-years |access-date=September 21, 2020 |website=AppleInsider |date=September 15, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=January 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130200317/https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/09/15/apple-has-sold-a-total-of-500-million-ipads-in-the-last-10-years |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Fried |first=Ina |date=January 31, 2017 |title=iPad sales keep shrinking – down another 20 percent |url=https://www.recode.net/2017/1/31/14460952/apple-ipad-sales-still-falling|access-date=March 20, 2019 |website=[[Recode]]|archive-date=April 29, ^
193.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/logos-that-became-legends-icons-from-the-world-of-advertising-768077.html |title=Logos that became legends: Icons from the world of advertising |location=UK |work=The Independent |access-date=September 14, 2009 |date=January 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003003651/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/logos-that-became-legends-icons-from-the-world-of-advertising-768077.html |archive-date=October 3, 2009 |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=March 14, 2005 |title=Archived Interview with Rob Janoff |url=http://www.unisourcedesign.ca/en/archive_design_technology.html_1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050314132032/http://www.unisourcedesign.ca/en/^
194.Apple Computer August 27, 1999, retrieved January 1, 2014^
226.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|news |date=December 17, 2020 |title=How Convincing is Facebook's Case Against Apple? |language=en |publisher=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2020-12-17/how-convincing-is-facebook-s-case-against-apple |access-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-date=December 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217121137/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2020-12-17/how-convincing-is-facebook-s-case-against-apple |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|news |last=Horwitz |first=Sarah E. Needleman and Jeff |date=December 16, 2020 |title=Facebook Wades Into 'Fortnite' Maker's Dispute With Apple |language=en-US |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-looks-for-allies-in-privacy-battle-with-a^
236.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Aten |first=Jason |date=May 12, 2021 |title=Apple's App Tracking Transparency Update Is Turning Out to Be the Worst-Case Scenario for Facebook |url=https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/apples-privacy-update-is-turning-out-to-be-worst-case-scenario-for-facebook.html |access-date=May 12, 2021 |website=Inc.com |language=en |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512071734/https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/apples-privacy-update-is-turning-out-to-be-worst-case-scenario-for-facebook.html |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |title=New data shows how devastating Apple's new anti-tracking feature is for Facebook |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/new-data-shows-how-devastating-apple-e2-80-99s-new-anti-tracking-feature-^
237.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=August 5, 2021 |title=Apple to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child sexual abuse |url=https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-child-abuse-apple-inc-7fe2a09427d663cda8addfeeffc40196 |first1= Frank |last1=Bajak |first2=Barbara |last2=Ortutay |access-date=August 6, 2021 |publisher=AP NEWS |language=en |archive-date=August 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805235943/https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-child-abuse-apple-inc-7fe2a09427d663cda8addfeeffc40196 |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|news |first1=India |last1=McKinney |first2=Erica |last2=Portnoy |date=August 5, 2021 |title=Apple's Plan to 'Think Different' About Encryption Opens a Backdoor to Your Private Life |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/appl^
238.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|news |date=July 3, 2019 |title=Irish Regulator Opens Third Privacy Probe Into Apple |publisher=Gadgets360 |url=https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/apple-ireland-data-protection-commissioner-privacy-investigation-2063517 |agency=Reuters |access-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724113326/https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/apple-ireland-data-protection-commissioner-privacy-investigation-2063517 |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|news |date=July 2, 2019 |title=Data Protection Commission opens privacy investigation into Apple |publisher=RTE |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0702/1059764-apple-privacy |access-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20^
283.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Turton |first=William |date=June 20, 2017 |title=Leaked recording: Inside Apple's global war on leakers |url=https://theoutline.com/post/1766/leaked-recording-inside-apple-s-global-war-on-leakers |access-date=June 20, 2017 |website=[[The Outline (website)|The Outline]] |archive-date=September 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920003844/https://theoutline.com/post/1766/leaked-recording-inside-apple-s-global-war-on-leakers |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |first=Dani |last=Deahl |title=Internal Apple presentation on how to handle leaks gets leaked |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/20/15837522/apple-internal-presentation-leaks |website=[[The Verge]] |date=June 20, 2017 |access-date=June 20, 2017 |archive-date=July 13, 202^
284.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Lovejoy |first=Ben |date=December 6, 2017 |title=Facebook named Glassdoor's 'best place to work' as Apple falls 48 places to No. 84 |url=https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/06/apple-glassdoor-rating-2017-2018 |access-date=December 14, 2017 |website=[[9to5Mac]] |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215110749/https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/06/apple-glassdoor-rating-2017-2018/ |url-status=live}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |first=Joe |last=Rossignol |title=Apple Plummets to Lowest Ranking Ever in Glassdoor's Annual List of Best Places to Work |url=https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/06/apple-drops-on-best-of-glassdoor |website=[[MacRumors]] |date=December 6, 2017 |access-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archiv^
291.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |title=Bloomberg Businessweek Profile of Apple Sales International |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=26016763l |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501232104/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=26016763l |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 1, 2013 |access-date=April 18, 2012 |website=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]}}{{Verify source|date=November 2017}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |title=Apple's Irish website with contact information for Apple Distribution International at Cork |url=https://www.apple.com/ie/contact |access-date=April 18, 2012 |website=[[Apple.com]] |archive-date=April 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414024251/http://www.apple^
293.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|news |last1=Tsang |first1=Amie |last2=Satariano |first2=Adam |date=December 13, 2018 |title=Apple to Add $1 Billion Campus in Austin, Tex., in Broad U.S. Hiring Push |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/business/apple-austin-campus.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213121245/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/business/apple-austin-campus.html |archive-date=December 13, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|news |title=Apple CEO Tim Cook to inaugurate new Israeli headquarters next week |url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/New-Tech/Apple-CEO-Tim-Cook-to-inaugurate-new-Israeli-headquarters-next-week-390866 |access-date=February ^
347.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |title=Help the planet. One app at a time |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/help-the-planet-one-app-at-a-time |access-date=April 14, 2016 |publisher=[[World Wildlife Fund]]}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |title=Environment |url=https://www.apple.com/environment |access-date=April 14, 2016 |publisher=Apple}}
|3={{#invoke:Cite|press release |url=https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2016/06/global-apps-for-earth-campaign-with-wwf-raises-more-than--8m.html |title=Global Apps for Earth campaign with WWF raises more than $8M |publisher=Apple |access-date=June 18, 2016}}
}}^
350.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=June 11, 2020 |title=Apple commits $100M to its new Racial Equity and Justice Initiative |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/11/apple-commits-100m-to-its-new-racial-equity-and-justice-initiative/ |access-date=August 20, 2021 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=January 13, 2021 |title=Apple announces new projects related to its $100 million pledge for racial equity and justice |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/13/apple-announces-new-projects-related-to-its-100-million-pledge-for-racial-equity-and-justice/ |access-date=August 20, 2021 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}
}}^
352.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Weaver |first=John Fitzgerald |date=June 10, 2016 |title=Apple Energy deeper dive: Is this Apple running its own microgrids or more? |url=http://electrek.co/2016/06/10/apple-energy-deeper-dive-is-this-apple-running-its-own-microgrids-or-more|access-date=June 12, 2016 |website=Electrek}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|news |last=Weintraub |first=Seth |date=June 9, 2016 |title=Apple has just become an energy company, looks to sell excess electricity into the grid and maybe more |website=[[9to5Mac]] |url=http://9to5mac.com/2016/06/09/apple-energy-company |access-date=June 12, 2016}}
}}^
362.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|news |last=Cardwell |first=Diane |date=August 23, 2016 |title=Apple Becomes a Green Energy Supplier, with Itself as Customer |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/business/energy-environment/as-energy-use-rises-corporations-turn-to-their-own-green-utility-sources.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129164413/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/business/energy-environment/as-energy-use-rises-corporations-turn-to-their-own-green-utility-sources.html |archive-date=November 29, 2016 |quote=clean power often does not flow directly to their facilities. They typically buy the renewable energy in amounts to match what they draw from the grid. They're actually getting power from^
363.Environment – Climate Change Why we measure our carbon footprint so rigorously., Apple, March 2016, retrieved March 27, 2016^
384.{{Multiref2
|1={{#invoke:Cite|web |last=Anderson |first=Ash |title=Apple Power Cables to Become Even More Environmentally Friendly |url=http://www.keynoodle.com/apple-power-cables-to-become-even-more-environmentally-friendly|access-date=January 14, 2012 |publisher=KeyNoodle|archive-date=January 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117004318/http://www.keynoodle.com/apple-power-cables-to-become-even-more-environmentally-friendly/|url-status=dead}}
|2={{#invoke:Cite|web |date=March 20, 2018 |title=Fire Resistant yet Environment Friendly Power Cables From Apple |url=https://appletoolbox.com/fire-resistant-yet-environment-friendly-power-cables-from-apple|access-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014102514/https://appletoolbox.com/fire-resistant^
417.Vicky Xiuzhong Xu, Danielle Cave, James Leiboid, Kelsey Munro, Nathan Ruser. Uyghurs for Sale Australian Strategic Policy Institute, February 2020, retrieved 2021-01-20^
Jobs was also hostile to the Apple II division, which at the time generated most of the company's revenue.
In 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh, the first personal computer without a bundled programming language.[24] Its debut was signified by "1984", a -million television advertisement directed by Ridley Scott that aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984.[25] This was hailed as a watershed event for Apple's success[26] and was called a "masterpiece" by CNN[27] and one of the greatest TV advertisements of all time by TV Guide.[28]
The advertisement created great interest in the Macintosh, and sales were initially good, but began to taper off dramatically after the first three months as reviews started coming in. Jobs had required 128 kilobytes of RAM, which limited its speed and software in favor of aspiring for a projected price point of. The Macintosh shipped for, a price panned by critics due to its slow performance.[29] In early 1985, this sales slump triggered a power struggle between Steve Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired away from Pepsi two years earlier by Jobs[30] saying, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?"[31] Sculley removed Jobs as the head of the Macintosh division, with unanimous support from the Apple board of directors.[32]
The board of directors instructed Sculley to contain Jobs and his ability to launch expensive forays into untested products. Rather than submit to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to oust him from leadership. Jean-Louis Gassée informed Sculley that Jobs had been attempting to organize a boardroom coup, and called an emergency meeting at which Apple's executive staff sided with Sculley, and stripped Jobs of all operational duties.Jobs resigned from Apple in September 1985 and took several Apple employees with him to found NeXT.[33] Wozniak had also quit his active employment at Apple earlier in 1985 to pursue other ventures, expressing his frustration with Apple's treatment of the Apple II division and stating that the company had "been going in the wrong direction for the last five years".[34][35][36] Wozniak remained employed by Apple as a representative,[35] receiving a stipend estimated to be $120,000 per year.Jobs and Wozniak remained Apple shareholders following their departures.[37]
After the departures of Jobs and Wozniak in 1985, Sculley launched the Macintosh 512K that year with quadruple the RAM, and introduced the LaserWriter, the first reasonably priced PostScript-based laser printer.PageMaker, an early desktop publishing application taking advantage of the PostScript language, was also released by Aldus Corporation in July 1985.It has been suggested that the combination of Macintosh, LaserWriter, and PageMaker was responsible for the creation of the desktop publishing market.[38]
This dominant position in the desktop publishing market allowed the company to focus on higher price points, the so-called "high-right policy" named for its position on a price–profits chart. Newer models selling at higher price points offered higher profit margin, and appeared to not affect total sales as power users snapped up every increase in speed.Although some worried about pricing themselves out of the market, the high-right policy was in full force by the mid-1980s, due to Jean-Louis Gassée's slogan of "fifty-five or die", referring to the 55% profit margins of the Macintosh II.
This policy began to backfire late in the decade as desktop publishing programs appeared on IBM PC compatibles with some of the same functionality of the Macintosh at far lower price points. The company lost its dominant position in the desktop publishing market and estranged many of its original consumer customer base, who could no longer afford Apple products. The Christmas season of 1989 was the first in the company's history to have declining sales, which led to a 20% drop in Apple's stock price.During this period, the relationship between Sculley and Gassée deteriorated, leading Sculley to effectively demote Gassée in January 1990 by appointing Michael Spindler as the chief operating officer.Gassée left the company later that year to set up a rival, Be Inc.
In 1993, the Apple II series was discontinued. It was expensive to produce, and the company decided it was still absorbing sales from lower-cost Macintosh models. After the launch of the LC, Apple encouraged developers to create applications for Macintosh rather than Apple II, and authorized salespersons to redirect consumers from Apple II and toward Macintosh.[43] The Apple IIe was discontinued in 1993.[44]
Apple experimented with several other unsuccessful consumer targeted products during the 1990s, including QuickTakedigital cameras, PowerCDportable CD audio players, speakers, the Pippin video game console, the eWorld online service, and Apple Interactive Television Box.Apple made significant investments in the Newton tablet division; the Newton was later criticized for high costs and limited commercial success, and commentators have attributed the decision to start that division in part to market forecasts by CEO John Sculley.[45]
Throughout this period, Microsoft continued to gain market share with Windows by focusing on delivering software to inexpensive personal computers, while Apple was delivering a richly engineered but expensive experience.[46] Apple relied on high profit margins and never developed a clear response; it sued Microsoft for making a GUI similar to the Lisa in Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.[47] The lawsuit dragged on for years and was finally dismissed.The major product flops and the rapid loss of market share to Windows sullied Apple's reputation, and in 1993 Sculley was replaced as CEO by Michael Spindler.[48]Under Spindler, Apple, IBM, and Motorola formed the AIM alliance in 1994 to create a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform or PReP), with IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple software. The AIM alliance hoped that PReP's performance and Apple's software would leave the PC far behind and thus counter the dominance of Windows. That year, Apple introduced the Power Macintosh, the first of many computers with Motorola's PowerPC processor.[49]
In the wake of the alliance, Apple opened up to the idea of allowing Motorola and other companies to build Macintosh clones. Over the next two years, 75 distinct Macintosh clone models were introduced. However, by 1996, Apple executives were worried that the clones were cannibalizing sales of its own high-end computers, where profit margins were highest.
In 1996, Spindler was replaced as CEO by Gil Amelio, who was hired for his reputation as a corporate rehabilitator.Amelio made big changes, including extensive layoffs and cost-cutting.[50]
This period was also marked by numerous failed attempts to modernize the Macintosh operating system (the classic Mac OS).The original Macintosh operating system (System 1) was not built for multitasking (running several applications at once).The company attempted to correct this by introducing cooperative multitasking in System 5, but still decided it needed a more modern approach.[51] This led to the Pink project in 1988, A/UX that same year, Copland in 1994, and evaluated the purchase of BeOS in 1996.Talks with Be stalled when the CEO, former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée, demanded $300 million in contrast to Apple's $125-million offer.[52] With Apple only weeks away from bankruptcy,[53] the board preferred NeXTSTEP and purchased NeXT in late 1996 for $400 million, retaining Steve Jobs.[54]
On May 6, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the original Macintosh: the iMac. The iMac sold 800,000 units in its first five months. It abandoned legacy technologies such as the 3 1/2-inch diskette, adopted the USB connector early, and came pre-installed with Internet connectivity (the 'i' in iMac) via Ethernet and a dial-up modem.[63][64] Its striking teardrop shape and translucent materials were designed by Jonathan Ive, who had been hired by Amelio, and who collaborated with Jobs for more than a decade to reshape Apple's product design.[65][66]
A little more than a year later on July 21, 1999, Apple introduced the iBook consumer laptop.It culminated Jobs' strategy to produce only four products: refined versions of the Power Macintosh G3 desktop and PowerBook G3 laptop for professionals, and the iMac desktop and iBook laptop for consumers.Jobs said the small product line allowed for a greater focus on quality and innovation.[67]
Around then, Apple also completed numerous acquisitions to create a portfolio of digital media production software for both professionals and consumers. Apple acquired Macromedia's Key Grip digital video editing software project, which was launched as Final Cut Pro in April 1999.[68] Key Grip's development also led to Apple's release of the consumer video-editing product iMovie in October 1999.[69] Apple acquired the German company Astarte in April 2000, which had developed the DVD authoring software DVDirector, which Apple repackaged as the professional-oriented DVD Studio Pro, and reused its technology to create iDVD for the consumer market.[69] In 2000, Apple purchased the SoundJam MP audio player software from Casady & Greene.Apple renamed the program iTunes, simplified the user interface and added CD burning.[70]
In 2001, Apple changed course with three announcements. First, on March 24, 2001, Apple announced the release of a new modern operating system, Mac OS X. This was after numerous failed attempts in the early 1990s, and several years of development. Mac OS X is based on NeXTSTEP, OpenStep, and BSD Unix, to combine the stability, reliability, and security of Unix with the ease of use of an overhauled user interface.Second, in May 2001, the first two Apple Store retail locations opened in Virginia and California, offering an improved presentation of the company's products.[71] At the time, many speculated that the stores would fail, but they later expanded to more than 500 locations worldwide.Third, on October 23, 2001, the iPod portable digital audio player debuted.The product was first sold on November 10, 2001, and sold over 100 million units within six years.[72]
In 2003, the iTunes Store was introduced with music downloads for 99¢ a song and iPod integration.It quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 5 billion downloads by June 19, 2008.[73] Two years later, the iTunes Store was the world's largest music retailer.[74]
In 2002, Apple purchased Nothing Real for its advanced digital compositing application Shake,[75] and Emagic for the music productivity application Logic. The purchase of Emagic made Apple the first computer manufacturer to own a music software company. The acquisition was followed by the development of Apple's consumer-level GarageBand application.[76] The release of iPhoto that year completed the iLife suite.[77]
At the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 6, 2005, Jobs announced that Apple would move away from PowerPC processors, and the Mac would transition to Intel processors in 2006.[78] On January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac became the first Apple computers to use Intel's Core Duo CPU.By August 7, 2006, Apple made the transition to Intel chips for the entire Mac product line—over one year sooner than announced.[78] The Power Mac, iBook, and PowerBook brands were retired during the transition; the Mac Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Pro became their respective successors.[79] Apple also introduced Boot Camp in 2006 to help users install Windows XP or Windows Vista on their Intel Macs alongside Mac OS X.[80]
Between early 2003 and 2006, the price of Apple's stock increased more than tenfold, from around $6 per share (split-adjusted) to over $80.[81] When Apple surpassed Dell's market cap in January 2006,[82] Jobs sent an email to Apple employees saying Dell's CEOMichael Dell should eat his words.[83] Nine years prior, Dell had said that if he ran Apple he would "shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders".[84]
Other record labels eventually followed suit and Apple published a press release in January 2009 to announce that all songs on the iTunes Store are available without its
In July 2008, Apple launched the App Store to sell third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.[93] Within a month, the store sold 60 million applications and registered an average daily revenue of $1 million, with Jobs speculating in August 2008 that the App Store could become a billion-dollar business for Apple.[94] By October 2008, Apple was the third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone.[95]
On January 14, 2009, Jobs announced in an internal memo that he would be taking a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple until the end of June 2009 and would spend the time focusing on his health.In the email, Jobs stated that "the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well", and explained that the break would allow the company "to focus on delivering extraordinary products".[96] Though Jobs was absent, Apple recorded its best non-holiday quarter (Q1 FY 2009) during the recession, with revenue of $8.16 billion and profit of $1.21 billion.[97]
After years of speculation and multiple rumored "leaks", Apple unveiled a large screen, tablet-like media device known as the iPad on January 27, 2010. The iPad ran the same touch-based operating system as the iPhone, and all iPhone apps were compatible with the iPad. This gave the iPad a large app catalog on launch, though having very little development time before the release. Later that year on April 3, 2010, the iPad was launched in the US. It sold more than 300,000 units on its first day, and 500,000 by the end of the first week.[98] In May 2010, Apple's market cap exceeded that of competitor Microsoft for the first time since 1989.[99]
In June 2010, Apple released the iPhone 4,[100] which introduced video calling using FaceTime, multitasking, and a new design with an exposed stainless steel frame as the phone's antenna system.Later that year, Apple again refreshed the iPod line by introducing a multi-touchiPod Nano, an iPod Touch with FaceTime, and an iPod Shuffle that brought back the clickwheel buttons of earlier generations.[101] It also introduced the smaller, cheaper second-generation Apple TV which allowed the rental of movies and shows.[102]
On January 17, 2011, Jobs announced in an internal Apple memo that he would take another medical leave of absence for an indefinite period to allow him to focus on his health. Chief operating officer Tim Cook assumed Jobs' day-to-day operations at Apple, although Jobs would still remain "involved in major strategic decisions".[103] Apple became the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world,[104] and has consistently been among the most valuable brands since then.[105] In June 2011, Jobs took the stage and unveiled iCloud, an online storage and syncing service for music, photos, files, and software which replaced MobileMe, Apple's previous attempt at content syncing.[106] This would be the last product launch Jobs would attend before his death.
On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned his position as CEO of Apple.[107] He was replaced by Cook[108] and Jobs became Apple's chairman.Apple did not have a chairman at the time[109] and instead had two co-lead directors, Andrea Jung and Arthur D. Levinson,[110] who continued with those titles until Levinson replaced Jobs as chairman of the board in November after Jobs' death.[111]
, which featured a 7.9-inch screen in contrast to the iPad's 9.7-inch screen.
These launches were successful, with the iPhone 5 (released September 21, 2012) becoming Apple's biggest iPhone launch with over two million pre-orders[118] and sales of three million iPads in three days following the launch of the iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad (released November 3, 2012).[119] Apple also released a third-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display and new iMac and Mac Mini computers.[120][121][122]
On August 20, 2012, Apple's rising stock price increased the company's market capitalization to a then-record $624 billion. This beat the non-inflation-adjusted record for market capitalization previously set by Microsoft in 1999.[123] On August 24, 2012, a US jury ruled that Samsung should pay Apple $1.05 billion (£665m) in damages in an intellectual property lawsuit.[124] Samsung appealed the damages award, which was reduced by $450 million[125] and further granted Samsung's request for a new trial.[125] On November 10, 2012, Apple confirmed a global settlement that dismissed all existing lawsuits between Apple and HTC up to that date, in favor of a ten-year license agreement for current and future patents between the two companies.[126] It is predicted that Apple will make million per year from this deal with HTC.[127]
In May 2014, Apple confirmed its intent to acquire Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's audio company Beats Electronics, producer of the "Beats by Dr. Dre" line of headphones and speaker products, and operator of the music streaming service Beats Music, for billion, and to sell its products through Apple's retail outlets and resellers. Iovine believed that Beats had always "belonged" with Apple, as the company modeled itself after Apple's "unmatched ability to marry culture and technology". The acquisition was the largest purchase in Apple's history.[128]
During a press event on September 9, 2014, Apple introduced a smartwatch called the Apple Watch.[129] Initially, Apple marketed the device as a fashion accessory[130] and a complement to the iPhone, that would allow people to look at their smartphones less.[131] Over time, the company has focused on developing health and fitness-oriented features on the watch, in an effort to compete with dedicated activity trackers.In January 2016, Apple announced that over one billion Apple devices were in active use worldwide.[132]
On June 6, 2016, Fortune released the Fortune 500, its annual list of companies ranked on revenue generation.In the trailing fiscal year of 2015, Apple was listed as the top tech company.[133] It ranked third, overall, with billion in revenue.[133] This represents a movement upward of two spots from the previous year's list.[133]
In June 2017, Apple announced the HomePod, its smart speaker aimed to compete against Sonos, Google Home, and Amazon Echo.[134] Toward the end of the year, TechCrunch reported that Apple was acquiring Shazam, a company that introduced its products at WWDC and specializing in music, TV, film and advertising recognition.[135] The acquisition was confirmed a few days later, reportedly costing Apple million, with media reports that the purchase looked like a move to acquire data and tools bolstering the Apple Music streaming service.[136] The purchase was approved by the European Union in September 2018.[137]
Also in June 2017, Apple appointed Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg to head the newly formed worldwide video unit. In November 2017, Apple announced it was branching out into original scripted programming: a drama series starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and a reboot of the anthology series Amazing Stories with Steven Spielberg.[138] In June 2018, Apple signed the Writers Guild of America's minimum basic agreement and Oprah Winfrey to a multi-year content partnership.[139] Additional partnerships for original series included Sesame Workshop and DHX Media and its subsidiary Peanuts Worldwide, and a partnership with A24 to create original films.[140]
During the Apple Special Event in September 2017, the AirPower wireless charger was announced alongside the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and Watch Series 3. The AirPower was intended to wirelessly charge multiple devices, simultaneously. Though initially set to release in early 2018, the AirPower would be canceled in March 2019, marking the first cancellation of a device under Cook's leadership.[141] On August 19, 2020, Apple's share price briefly topped $467.77, making it the first US company with a market capitalization of trillion.[142]
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple's effort to develop its own chips left it better prepared to deal with the semiconductor shortage that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to increased profitability, with sales of M1-based Mac computers rising sharply in 2020 and 2021.It also inspired other companies like Tesla, Amazon, and Meta Platforms to pursue a similar path.[148]
In April 2022, Apple opened an online store that allowed anyone in the US to view repair manuals and order replacement parts for specific recent iPhones, although the difference in cost between this method and official repair is anticipated to be minimal.[149]
In May 2022, a trademark was filed for RealityOS, an operating system reportedly intended for virtual and augmented reality headsets, first mentioned in 2017. According to Bloomberg, the headset may come out in 2023.[150] Further insider reports state that the device uses iris scanning for payment confirmation and signing into accounts.[151] In June 2023, Apple formally announced its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, which ran its new visionOS operating system.[152] The headset was released in February of the following year.[153]
On June 18, 2022, the Apple Store in Towson, Maryland, became the first to unionize in the US, with the employees voting to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.[154]
On July 7, 2022, Apple added Lockdown Mode to macOS 13 and iOS 16, as a response to the earlier Pegasus revelations; the mode increases security protections for high-risk users against targeted zero-day malware.[155]
Apple launched a buy now, pay later service called 'Apple Pay Later' for its Apple Wallet users in March 2023.The program allows its users to apply for loans between $50 and $1,000 to make online or in-app purchases and then repaying them through four installments spread over six weeks without any interest or fees.[156][157]
In November 2023, Apple agreed to a $25-million settlement in a US Department of Justice case that alleged Apple was discriminating against US citizens in hiring.Apple created jobs that were not listed online and that required a paper submission application, while advertising these jobs to foreign workers as part of recruitment for PERM.[158]
In January 2024, Apple announced compliance with the European Union's competition law, with major changes to the App Store and other services, effective on March 7. This enables iOS users in the 27-nation bloc to use alternative app stores, and alternative payment methods within apps. This adds a menu in Safari for downloading alternative browsers, such as Chrome or Firefox.[159]
In June 2024, Apple introduced Apple Intelligence to incorporate on-device artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.[160]
In October 2024, Apple introduced its Apple Intelligence suite, bringing generative AI features such as writing assistance, enhanced Siri capabilities, and improved photo tools to select iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.[161]
On November 1, 2024, Apple announced its acquisition of Pixelmator, a company known for its image editing applications for iPhone and Mac. Apple had previously showcased Pixelmator's apps during its product launches, including naming Pixelmator Pro its Mac App of the Year in 2018 for its innovative use of machine learning and AI. In the announcement, Pixelmator stated that there would be no significant changes to its existing apps following the acquisition.[162]
On December 31, 2024, a preliminary settlement was filed in the Oakland California federal court that accused Apple of unlawfully recording private conversations, through unintentional Siri activations, and of sharing them with third parties, including advertisers. Apple agreed to a $95-million cash settlement to resolve this lawsuit in which its Siri assistant violated user privacy. While denying any wrongdoing, Apple settled the case, allowing affected users to potentially claim up to $20 per device. Attorneys sought $28.5 million in fees from the settlement fund.[163]
Despite continued growth in its services sector, including a new all-time high for services revenue in the March quarter and the launch of updated models such as the iPhone 16e and M4 MacBook Air,[167][168] Apple faced significant challenges.
The company contended with a 19% decline in stock value year-to-date, ongoing antitrust investigations by the US Department of Justice, and legal disputes involving the App Store.
Competition in the AI space escalated, with rivals gaining ground.
High-profile departures[169] and political tensions, including calls for Apple to manufacture iPhones domestically or face tariffs, added to the pressure, have been cited by analysts as contributing to a difficult year for CEO Tim Cook.[170]
In December 2025, Cook met with US House members to push back against the App Store Accountability Act which could require that Apple authenticates users' ages and possibly collect sensitive data on children.[171]
On January 12, 2026, Apple announced a partnership with Google Gemini for AI-powered Siri.[172]
In January 2026, Apple acquired Q.ai, an Israeli artificial intelligence startup specializing in imaging and machine learning technologies for audio processing. The financial terms were not disclosed, though media reports estimated the acquisition at nearly US$2 billion; this is Apple's second-largest purchase to date. Following the deal, Q.ai's founders and approximately 100 employees joined Apple.[173][174][175]
In February 2026, US lawmakers requested that the United Kingdom government provide a briefing on its now-rescinded order for Apple to build a backdoor into its encrypted devices, expressing concerns about privacy and security implications of such access.[176]
iMac: Consumer all-in-one desktop computer, introduced in 1998.
Mac Mini: Consumer sub-desktop computer, introduced in 2005.
MacBook Pro: Professional notebook, introduced in 2006.
MacBook Air: Consumer ultra-thin notebook, introduced in 2008.
Mac Studio: Professional small form-factor workstation, introduced in 2022.
MacBook Neo: Low-cost ultra-thin notebook, introduced in 2026.
iPhone
The iPhone is Apple's line of smartphones, which run the company's iOS operating system.The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007.Since then, new iPhone models have been released every year.When it was introduced, its multi-touch screen was described as "revolutionary" and a "game-changer" for the mobile phone industry.The device has been credited with creating the app economy.
iOS is one of the two major smartphone platforms in the world, alongside Android.The iPhone has generated large profits for the company, and is credited with helping to make Apple one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies.[183] As of the end of 2024, the iPhone accounts for nearly half of the company's revenue.[180]
iPad
The iPad is Apple's line of tablets, which run the company's iPadOS operating system.The first-generation iPad was announced on January 27, 2010. The iPad is mainly marketed for consuming multimedia, creating art, working on documents, videoconferencing, and playing games. The iPad lineup consists of several base iPad models, and the smaller iPad Mini, upgraded iPad Air, and high-end iPad Pro.Apple has consistently improved the iPad's performance, with the iPad Pro adopting the same M-series chips as the Mac, though the iPad continues to receive criticism for its limited OS.[184][185]
As of September 2020, Apple has sold more than 500 million iPads, though sales peaked in 2013.[186] The iPad remains the most popular tablet computer by sales as of the second quarter of 2020,[187] and accounted for seven percent of the company's revenue as of the end of 2024.[180] Apple sells several iPad accessories, including the Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio, Magic Keyboard, and several adapters.
Other products
Apple makes several other products that it categorizes as "Wearables, Home and Accessories".[188] These products include the AirPods line of wireless headphones, Apple TV digital media players, Apple Watch smartwatches, Beats headphones, HomePod smart speakers, and the Vision Pro mixed reality headset.As of the end of 2024, this broad line of products comprises about ten percent of the company's revenues.[180]
Services
Apple offers a broad line of services, including advertising in the App Store and Apple News app, the AppleCare+ extended warranty plan, the iCloud+ cloud-based data storage service, payment services through the Apple Card credit card and the Apple Pay processing platform, digital content services including Apple Books, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple TV (formerly TV+), and the iTunes Store.Apple also provides Apple One, which is a bundle of these services.In 2019, Apple announced it would be making a concerted effort to expand its service revenues.[189] As of the end of 2024, services comprise about 26% of the company's revenue.[180]
In 2023, the
World Intellectual Property Organization
's Madrid Yearly Review ranked Apple's number of
trademark
applications, filled under the
Madrid System
, as 10th in the world, with 74 trademark applications submitted during 2023.
adverts, Apple has been recognized for its efforts toward effective advertising and marketing for its products.
However, claims made by later campaigns were criticized,[210] particularly the 2005 Power Mac ads.[211] Apple's product advertisements gained significant attention as a result of their graphics and song choice.[212] Musicians who benefited from an improved profile as a result of their songs being included on Apple advertisements include Canadian singer Feist with the song "1234" and Yael Naïm with the song "New Soul".[212]
but they exceeded the sales numbers of competing nearby stores, and within three years reached US$1 billion in annual sales, becoming the fastest retailer in history to do so.
Over the years, Apple has expanded the number of retail locations and its geographical coverage, with 499 stores across 22 countries worldwide as of December 2017.[217] Strong product sales have placed Apple among the top-tier retail stores, with sales over $16 billion globally in 2011.[218] Apple Stores underwent a period of significant redesign, beginning in May 2016.This redesign included physical changes to the Apple Stores, such as open spaces and re-branded rooms, and changes in function to facilitate interaction between consumers and professionals.[219]
Many Apple Stores are located inside shopping malls, but Apple has built several stand-alone "flagship" stores in high-profile locations.[214] It has been granted design patents and received architectural awards for its stores' designs and construction, specifically for its use of glass staircases and cubes.[220] The success of Apple Stores have had significant influence over other consumer electronics retailers, which have lost traffic, control and profits due to a perceived higher quality of service and products at Apple Stores.[221] Due to the popularity of the brand, Apple receives a large number of job applications, many of which come from young workers.[218] Although Apple Store employees receive above-average pay, are offered money toward education and health care, and receive product discounts,[218] there are limited or no paths of career advancement.[218]
agreed to assist Epic in its legal game against Apple, planning to support the company by providing materials and documents to Epic.
Facebook had, however, stated that the company would not participate directly with the lawsuit, although did commit to helping with the discovery of evidence relating to the trial of 2021.
In the months prior to their agreement, Facebook had been dealing with feuds against Apple relating to the prices of paid apps and privacy rule changes.[225] Head of ad products for Facebook Dan Levy commented, saying that "this is not really about privacy for them, this is about an attack on personalized ads and the consequences it's going to have on small-business owners," commenting on the full-page ads placed by Facebook in various newspapers in December 2020.[226]
However, Apple has aided law enforcement in criminal investigations by providing iCloud backups of users' devices,[233] and the company's commitment to privacy has been questioned by its efforts to promote biometric authentication technology in its iPhone models starting with the iPhone 5s,[234] which do not have the same level of constitutional privacy as a passcode in the United States.[235]
With Apple's release of an update to iOS 14, Apple required all developers of iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch applications to directly ask iPhone users permission to track them.The feature, called "App Tracking Transparency", received heavy criticism from Facebook, whose primary business model revolves around the tracking of users' data and sharing such data with advertisers so users can see more relevant ads, a technique commonly known as targeted advertising. After Facebook's measures, including purchasing full-page newspaper advertisements protesting App Tracking Transparency, Apple released the update in early 2021. A study by Verizon subsidiary Flurry Analytics reported only 4% of iOS users in the United States and 12% worldwide have opted into tracking.[236]
Prior to the release of iOS 15, Apple announced new efforts at combating child sexual abuse material on iOS and Mac platforms.Parents of minor iMessage users can now be alerted if their child sends or receives nude photographs.Additionally, on-device hashing would take place on media destined for upload to iCloud, and hashes would be compared to a list of known abusive images provided by law enforcement; if enough matches were found, Apple would be alerted and authorities informed. The new features received praise from law enforcement and victims rights advocates. However, privacy advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, condemned the new features as invasive and highly prone to abuse by authoritarian governments.[237]
Ireland's Data Protection Commission launched a privacy investigation to examine whether Apple complied with the EU's GDPR law following an investigation into how the company processes personal data with targeted ads on its platform.[238]
In December 2019, security researcher Brian Krebs discovered that the iPhone 11 Pro would still show the arrow indicator–signifying location services are being used–at the top of the screen while the main location services toggle is enabled, despite all individual location services being disabled.Krebs was unable to replicate this behavior on older models and when asking Apple for comment, he was told by Apple that "It is expected behavior that the Location Services icon appears in the status bar when Location Services is enabled. The icon appears for system services that do not have a switch in Settings."[239]Apple later further clarified that this behavior was to ensure compliance with ultra-wideband regulations in specific countries, a technology Apple started implementing in iPhones starting with iPhone 11 Pro, and emphasized that "the management of ultra wideband compliance and its use of location data is done entirely on the device and Apple is not collecting user location data."Will Strafach, an executive at security firm Guardian Firewall, confirmed the lack of evidence that location data was sent off to a remote server.Apple promised to add a new toggle for this feature and in later iOS revisions Apple provided users with the option to tap on the location services indicator in Control Center to see which specific service is using the device's location.[240][241]
According to published reports by Bloomberg News on March 30, 2022, Apple turned over data such as phone numbers, physical addresses, and IP addresses to hackers posing as law enforcement officials using forged documents.The law enforcement requests sometimes included forged signatures of real or fictional officials.When asked about the allegations, an Apple representative referred the reporter to a section of the company policy for law enforcement guidelines, which stated, "We review every data request for legal sufficiency and use advanced systems and processes to validate law enforcement requests and detect abuse."[242]
Johny Srouji (senior vice president – Hardware Technologies)
John Ternus (senior vice president – Hardware Engineering)
Nonetheless, it has maintained a reputation for fostering individuality and excellence that reliably attracts talented workers, particularly after Jobs returned.
Jobs intended that employees were to be specialists who are not exposed to functions outside their area of expertise. For instance, Ron Johnson—Senior Vice President of Retail Operations until November 1, 2011—was responsible for site selection, in-store service, and store layout, yet had no control of the inventory in his stores.This was done by Tim Cook, who had a background in supply-chain management.[278] Apple is known for strictly enforcing accountability.Each project has a "directly responsible individual" or "DRI" in Apple jargon.[263][279] Unlike other major US companies, Apple provides a relatively simple compensation policy for executives that does not include perks enjoyed by other CEOs like country club fees or private use of company aircraft.The company typically grants stock options to executives every other year.[280]
In 2015, Apple had 110,000 full-time employees. This increased to 116,000 full-time employees the next year, a notable hiring decrease, largely due to its first revenue decline. Apple does not specify how many of its employees work in retail, though its 2014 SEC filing put the number at approximately half of its employee base.[281] In September 2017, Apple announced that it had over 123,000 full-time employees.[282]
Apple has a strong culture of corporate secrecy, and has an anti-leak Global Security team that recruits from the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Secret Service.[283] In December 2017, Glassdoor said Apple was the 48th best place to work, having originally entered at rank 19 in 2009, peaking at rank 10 in 2012, and falling down the ranks in subsequent years.[284] In 2023, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed the existence of Apple's Exploratory Design Group (XDG), which was working to add glucose monitoring to the Apple Watch.Gurman compared XDG to Alphabet's X "moonshot factory".[285]
In total, Apple occupies almost 40% of the available office space in the city.
Apple's headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are located in Cork in the south of Ireland, called the Hollyhill campus.[289] The facility, which opened in 1980, houses 5,500 people and was Apple's first location outside of the United States.[290] Apple's international sales and distribution arms operate out of the campus in Cork.[291]
Apple has two campuses near Austin, Texas: a 216,000 ft2 campus opened in 2014 houses 500 engineers who work on Apple silicon[292] and a 1.1 e6ft2 campus opened in 2021 where 6,000 people work in technical support, supply chain management, online store curation, and Apple Maps data management.The company also has several other locations in Boulder, Colorado; Culver City, California; Herzliya (Israel), London, New York, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Seattle that each employ hundreds of people.[293]
Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple in August 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, related to Apple's practices in the iOS App Store.
In January 2022, Ericsson sued Apple over payment of royalty of 5G technology.[298] On June 24, 2024, the European Commission accused Apple of violating the Digital Markets Act by preventing "app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content".[299] In April 2025, Apple was found guilty and fined €500 million ($570 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act.[300]
George Osborne
to force these multinationals, which also included
, to state the effective rate of tax it pays on its UK revenues.
Elphicke also said that government contracts should be withheld from multinationals who do not pay their fair share of UK tax.[326]
According to a US Senate report on the company's offshore tax structure concluded in May 2013, Apple has held billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government by using an unusual global tax structure.[327] The main subsidiary, a holding company that includes Apple's retail stores throughout Europe, has not paid any corporate income tax in the last five years."Apple has exploited a difference between Irish and U.S. tax residency rules", the report said.[328] On May 21, 2013, Apple CEO Tim Cook defended his company's tax tactics at a Senate hearing.[329]
Apple says that it is the single largest taxpayer in the US, with an effective tax rate of approximately of 26% as of Q2 FY2016.[330] In an interview with the German newspaper FAZ in October 2017, Tim Cook stated that Apple was the biggest taxpayer worldwide.[331]
In 2016, after a two-year investigation, the European Commission claimed that Apple's use of a hybrid Double Irish tax arrangement constituted "illegal state aid" from Ireland, and ordered Apple to pay €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in unpaid taxes, the largest corporate tax fine in history.This was later annulled, after the European General Court ruled that the commission had provided insufficient evidence.[332][333] In 2018, Apple repatriated $285 billion to the United States, resulting in a $38-billion tax payment spread over the following eight years.[334]
Charity
Apple is a partner of Product Red, a fundraising campaign for AIDS charity.In November 2014, Apple arranged for all App Store revenue in a two-week period to go to the fundraiser,[335] generating more than US$20 million,[336] and in March 2017, it released an iPhone 7 with a red color finish.[337] As of 2021, Apple has donated over $250 million to Product Red.[338]
Apple contributes financially to fundraisers in times of natural disasters. In November 2012, it donated $2.5 million to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy,[339] and in 2017 it donated $5 million to relief efforts for both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey,[340] and for the 2017 Central Mexico earthquake.[341] The company has used its iTunes platform to encourage donations in the wake of environmental disasters and humanitarian crises, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake,[342] the 2011 Japan earthquake,[343]Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in November 2013,[344] and the 2015 European migrant crisis.[345] Apple emphasizes that it does not incur any processing or other fees for iTunes donations, sending 100% of the payments directly to relief efforts, though it also acknowledges that the Red Cross does not receive any personal information on the users donating and that the payments may not be tax deductible.[346]
On April 14, 2016, Apple and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced that they have engaged in a partnership to, "help protect life on our planet".Apple released a special page in the iTunes App Store, Apps for Earth. In the arrangement, Apple has committed that through April 24, WWF will receive 100% of the proceeds from the applications participating in the App Store via both the purchases of any paid apps and the In-App Purchases. Apple and WWF's Apps for Earth campaign raised more than $8 million in total proceeds to support WWF's conservation work. WWF announced the results at WWDC 2016 in San Francisco.[347]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple's CEO Cook announced that the company would be donating "millions" of masks to health workers in the United States and Europe.[348] On January 13, 2021, Apple announced a $100-million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to help combat institutional racism worldwide after the 2020 murder of George Floyd.[349][350] In June 2023, Apple announced that it was doubling this and then distributed more than $200 million to support organizations focused on education, economic growth, and criminal justice.Half is philanthropic grants and half is centered on equity.[351]
concerning every product it currently produces or has sold in the past (and which it has enough data needed to produce the report), in its portfolio on its homepage.
Allowing consumers to make informed purchasing decisions on the products it offers for sale.
In June 2009, Apple's iPhone 3GS was free of PVC, arsenic, and BFRs.[375][379] Since 2009, all Apple products have mercury-free LED-backlit LCDs, arsenic-free glass, and non-PVC cables.[380] All Apple products have EPEAT Gold status and beat the latest Energy Star guidelines in each product's respective regulatory category.[375][381]
In November 2011, Apple was featured in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks electronics manufacturers on sustainability, climate and energy policy, and how "green" its products are.The company ranked fourth of fifteen electronics companies (moving up five places from the previous year) with a score of 4.6/10.[382] Greenpeace praised Apple's sustainability, noting that the company exceeded its 70% global recycling goal in 2010. Apple continues to score well on product ratings, with all of its products now being free of PVC plastic and BFRs. However, the guide criticized Apple on the Energy criteria for not seeking external verification of its greenhouse gas emissions data, and for not setting any targets to reduce emissions.[383] In January 2012, Apple requested that its cable maker, Volex, begin producing halogen-freeUSB and power cables.[384]
Apple workers around the globe have been involved in organizing since the 1990s.[403] Apple unions are made up of retail, corporate, and outsourced workers.Apple employees have joined trade unions or formed works councils in Australia,[404]France,[405]Germany,[406]Italy,[407]Japan,[408] the United Kingdom[409] and the United States.[410] In 2021, Apple Together, a solidarity union, sought to bring together the company's global worker organizations.[411] The majority of industrial labor disputes (including union recognition) involving Apple occur indirectly through its suppliers and contractors, notably Foxconn plants in China[412] and, to a lesser extent, in Brazil[413] and India.[414]
Apple has been criticized for labor sourcing and conditions at the facilities of its contract manufacturers[415][416][417] as well as mines.[418][419][420]
