Apple’s Most Significant Developments In The Last Decade

The years between 2000 and 2009 were extremely busy for Apple. Over the course of these years, the company has transformed itself from a lower-tier firm to being able to compete with the software giant Microsoft. Here are ten of Apple’s most significant products and developments during the past ten years.

1. Mac OS X 10.1 was introduced. Apple radically changed its operating system in 2001, making it a lot more accessible to the average user. This would eventually pave the way for Apple to sell more Mac computers as a more user-friendly alternative to Microsoft Windows computers.
2. Apple opened its first retail stores. They were opened as late as May 2001–I had not realized before how young Apple stores were. They are extremely important because they have helped Apple sell Macs to people who may not have bought Apple products otherwise.
3. Apple introduced the iPod. Introduced in October 2001, this product has become tremendously popular and has greatly helped Apple to thrive. It has been instrumental in bringing about the end of music CDs.
4. Apple introduced iPhoto in 2002. iPhoto has proved to be important because of the increasing popularity of digital photography. It offers the average person an easy way to manage a large amount of photos.
5. Apple introduced the Aluminum PowerBook G4. Apple called 2003 the “Year of the Laptop”, and that it was. Apple released different sizes of its PowerBook. Laptops have since become more common, as they offer specs that can compete with desktops.
6. The iTunes Music Store opened. In 2003, it began offering songs that users could download for 99 cents each. It is now the top music retailer in the country, offering TV shows and movie rentals in addition to music. The iTunes Store has helped make the iPod more popular, as well as give people an easy way to get legal music.
7. Apple transitioned to Intel processors. This is the first development I that I personally remember (I was not interested in Macs before 2005 or so). In 2005, Apple began transitioning to Intel processors, finishing the transition in 2006. The use of Intel processors has enabled Mac computers to go even further than they had ever gone before: they can now run Windows.
8. Apple released Boot Camp, allowing Macs to run Windows. Boot Camp was released in 2006 and allows users to reboot their computers and run Windows natively. It has made Macs more attractive for corporate consumers.
9. Apple introduced the iPhone. Steve Jobs first announced it in January 2007 and the iPhone came out in June of that same year. The iPhone has revolutionized the smartphone industry, and is wildly popular in many different countries.
10. Apple opened the iPhone to third-party developers. In 2008, Apple gave developers the tools to make apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The App Store opened in June 2008 with 552 apps–now it has over 100,000.

Via Macworld.