1976
January: Steve Wozniak, 26, works at Hewlett-Packard while future Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, 21, labours at Atari.

March: Wozniak and Jobs create the Apple I—a computer circuit board without a keyboard, a case, sound, or graphics.

April: Wozniak and Jobs form Apple Computer Company on April Fools’ Day. The Apple I debuts in Palo Alto, California, at the Homebrew Computer Club.

1977
February: Michael Scott becomes Apple’s president.

April: Apple unveils the Apple II—the first PC with color graphics—at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It includes a keyboard, a power supply, and a snazzy case.

April: Rob Janov, an art director at Regis McKenna, Apple’s public-relations agency, designs the company’s new logo: a silhouette of a bitten apple with six colour stripes.

June: The Apple II becomes available to the public. It includes 4K of standard memory, two game paddles, and a demo cassette (price: $1,298).

1978
March: Apple introduces interface cards for connecting its computers to most printers.

June: The Apple Disk II, a miniature floppy-disk drive, debuts at the Consumer Electronics Show (price: $595).

1979
May: Software Arts unveils VisiCalc, an electronic spreadsheet. One of the first “killer apps,” it helped spur sales of the Apple II.

May: Apple employee Jef Raskin proposes a new project: an all-in-one computer aimed at the average person.

September: Apple’s board approves a formal research project for Raskin’s proposal.

November: Steve Jobs and software engineer Bill Atkinson visit the Xerox PARC lab in Palo Alto, California. More Apple employees will visit a month later. The visits will inspire development of both the Lisa and the Macintosh.

1980
March: Apple FORTRAN is introduced. It becomes a catalyst for high-level technical and educational applications.

May: At the National Computer Conference, Apple announces the Apple III, which features a new operating system, a built-in disk controller, and four peripheral slots. Rushed production and poor direction from Steve Jobs lead to missed ship dates, performance problems, and disappointing sales (price: $4,300-$7,800).

December: Apple goes public. Morgan Stanley and Hambrecht & Quist underwrite an IPO of 4.6 million shares of Apple common stock priced at $22 per share. It’s the largest initial public offering since Ford’s, in 1956.

1981
January: Steve Jobs joins Raskin’s Macintosh project.

February: Chiat/Day gets Apple’s advertising account after it buys Regis McKenna’s ad operations.

March: Mike Markkula replaces Mike Scott as president; Jobs succeeds Markkula as chairman. Scott becomes vice chairman.

July: Apple launches a TV ad campaign with talk-show host Dick Cavett as its spokesman.

September: Apple’s first mass storage system, the 5MB ProFile hard disk, is introduced (price: $3,499).
 

1982
July: Apple rolls out the Apple Dot Matrix printer (price: $2,195).

September: Steve Wozniak sponsors a weekend-long outdoor rock concert—the US Festival—near San Bernardino, California.

December: Apple becomes the first PC maker to reach $1 billion in annual sales.
 

1983
January: Apple introduces the Lisa (price: $9,995).

April: Apple hires John Sculley, former president of Pepsi-Cola, as its new president and CEO.

May: Apple joins the Fortune 500.

November: AppleWorks, an integrated package containing word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications, hits the market.

December: Apple releases the ImageWriter printer (price: $675).

1984
January: The landmark “1984” commercial introduces the Macintosh during Super Bowl XVIII (won by the Los Angeles Raiders).

January: The Mac makes its debut at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting (price: $2,495).

January: Microsoft releases Word 1.0 for Mac.

September: Apple ships the Macintosh 512K (price: $3,195).
 

1985
January: The first Macworld Expo is held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

January: Following the previous year’s Super Bowl success, Apple-embossed seat cushions cover Stanford Stadium, site of Super Bowl XIX. The game features a commercial titled “Lemmings”—which bombs.

January: Apple releases the Apple LaserWriter (price: $7,000).

April: Apple introduces the ImageWriter II, the HD-20 hard disk, and the Apple Personal Modem.

April: FileMaker 1.0, developed by Nashoba Systems and published by Forethought, makes its Mac debut.

April: Apple releases System 2.0.

April: Apple officially discontinues the Lisa, now named the Macintosh XL.

July: Aldus releases PageMaker, a page-layout application that ushers in the desktop-publishing era.

September: Following clashes with John Sculley, Steve Jobs resigns from Apple. He forms a new computer company, Next.

September: Microsoft introduces Excel for Mac.

In Other News: Microsoft ships Windows 1.0; Coca-Cola changes the formula of its soft drink, releasing “New Coke”; the price of a first-class postage stamp rise 2 cents to 22 cents.
 

1986
January: Apple releases System 3.0.

January: Apple releases the Macintosh Plus. The first Mac to include a SCSI port, it was aimed at answering complaints that the original Mac wasn’t expandable (price: $2,600).

In Other News: Steve Jobs invests $10 million in a Lucasfilm division named Pixar; a Mac Plus makes a memorable cameo in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ; the first Nintendo video games arrive in the U.S.

1987
January: New desktop communications products include the AppleShare file-server application (price: $799) and the AppleTalk PC Card (price: $399).

March: The Macintosh II—which is both the first color Mac and the first NuBus Mac—debuts (price: $3,989-$5,498).

March: Apple releases System 4.0.

April: QuarkXPress debuts.

July: Microsoft releases PowerPoint 1.0. The Mac version of the presentation software appears some three years before its Windows counterpart.

October: Apple releases System 4.2 and Finder 6.0, combining both in System 5.0.

1988
January: Microsoft launches Windows 2.03, featuring Mac-like icons and overlapping windows.

March: Apple files a federal lawsuit against Microsoft claiming copyright infringement.

June: Apple releases System 6.0.

1989
February: The Beatles’ Apple Corps recording company sues Apple Computer for marketing products with music-synthesizing capabilities, claiming a violation of a 1981 trademark-coexistence pact. It won’t be the last legal dispute between the two Apples.

June: Microsoft releases Office 1.0.

September: Apple releases the Macintosh Portable (price: $6,500).

1990
February: Adobe introduces Photoshop.

March: The Macintosh IIfx debuts (price: $10,000-$12,000).

November: Michael Spindler becomes Apple’s president.

In Other News: The first known Web page is written.

1991
March: Low-cost printers, including the StyleWriter and the Personal LaserWriter LS, debut.

May: Apple announces QuickTime, a new system-software architecture for the integration of dynamic media.

May: System 7.0 ships.

October: The PowerBook 100 debuts (price: $2,500).

1992
April: Microsoft releases Windows 3.1; it became one of the first widely used PC GUI operating systems.

May: Jonathan Ive joins Apple

May: IBM, Motorola, and Apple team up to make the PowerPC family of single-chip, reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessors.

1993
June: Michael Spindler becomes CEO. John Sculley continues as Apple chairman.

August: Apple launches the Newton MessagePad handheld.

August: A federal judge dismisses Apple’s Windows 2.03 suit against Microsoft. The decision is upheld on appeal.

October: John Sculley resigns. Mike Markkula is elected chairman.

In Other News: Mosaic, a program for browsing the World Wide Web, is realesed.

1994
March: PowerPC processors make their Mac debut, with the release of the Power Mac 6100 (price: $1,700).

March: Apple announces that Copland, its next-generation operating system, will ship in 1995 and be followed by another OS, code-named Gershwin, in 1996. It doesn’t and it won’t.

September: Apple announces its intent to support Mac clones, licensing Radius, Power Computing, and Umax.

November: The Mac tops the 100MHz mark, with the PowerPC 601-powered Power Mac 8100.

1995
February: The Supreme Court declines to review Apple’s copyright-infringement case against Microsoft, ending the seven-year legal dispute.

May: The Power Mac 9500 ships (price: $5,300).

June: Apple launches eWorld, an online service. After failing to catch on, eWorld shuts down in March 1996.

September: Apple’s 1995 fiscal-year sales top $11 billion.

October: The first multiprocessor Mac ships—but not from Apple. DayStar Digital’s DayStar Genesis MP 528 features four 132MHz PowerPC 604 processors (price: $10,000).

In Other News: Microsoft releases Windows 95; Toy Story hits theaters; Pixar goes public, with Steve Jobs’ shares worth an estimated $1.17 billion;

1996
February: Gil Amelio becomes the chairman and CEO of Apple, replacing Michael Spindler.

February: Apple attempts to enter the high-end server market with the Network Server 500 and 700 .

May: Internet Explorer 2.0—the first Mac version of Microsoft’s Web browser—ships.

August: Apple gets into the multiprocessor game with the dual-180MHz Power Mac 9500. Apple won’t release another dual-processor machine for four years.

August: Apple ends development of Copland and Gershwin.

December: Apple buys Next and its OS, NextStep.

In Other News: Jeff Goldblum saves the day with the help of a PowerBook 5300 in Independence Day ; broadcasters and electronics makers agree on a high-definition TV standard.

 

1997 January: Steve Jobs returns to Apple as an advisor. January: Apple unveils plans for a new OS that incorporates NextStep; it’s code-named Rhapsody. May: To mark its 20th anniversary as a company, Apple releases the 20th Anniversary Macintosh (price: $10,000). May: Apple announces plans to spin off Newton as a wholly owned subsidiary. July: Gil Amelio resigns from Apple. August: The satellite-beamed image of Bill Gates shares the Macworld Expo stage with Jobs, as Microsoft and Apple announce a five-year technology alliance. August: Mac OS 8 ships. September: Jobs becomes Apple’s interim CEO. September: In a move that kills off the Mac clone market, Apple buys Power Computing for $100 million.

1998 February: Apple reorganizes Claris into a standalone subsidiary called FileMaker. It also ends Newton development. May: Apple unveils a revised OS strategy, changing the name of its next-generation OS to OS X. June: Umax pulls out of the Mac-clone market. August: Apple ships the first iMac (price: $1,299). In Other News: Microsoft releases Windows 98.

1999 January: The Power Mac G3 comes out (price: $1,599-$4,999). January: The iMac adds new flavors—blueberry, tangerine, grape, lime, and strawberry, to be exact. In the next few years, Apple’s consumer line will go through numerous color shifts, including indigo, sage, ruby, snow, and (inexplicably) Blue Dalmatian. April: Apple releases Final Cut Pro. September: The iBook hits the market (price $1,599). September: The G4 chip becomes the processor for Power Macs (price: $1,599-$3,499). October: OS 9 ships.

2000 January: Steve Jobs drops the “interim” tag from his CEO title and shows off OS X’s Aqua interface in public for the first time. July: The Power Mac G4 Cube debuts (price: $1,799-$2,299). September: The public gets its hands on a beta version of OS X.

2001 January: The PowerBook G4 ushers in Apple’s shiny-metal look (price: $2,599-$3,499). March: OS X debuts. July: The G4 Cube becomes Apple’s best-looking failure: the company discontinues production. September: The new operating system gets a badly needed update with OS X 10.1. October: Apple enters the portable-music business, unveiling the first iPod music player. In Other News: Wikipedia goes online; Microsoft releases Windows XP.

2002 January: The flat-panel G4 iMac debuts; Apple pronounces the CRT officially dead (price: $1,299-$1,799). January: OS X becomes the default operating system for all new Macs. April: To appeal to education customers, Apple announces the eMac, an all-in-one system with a flat CRT monitor. May: With the release of the Xserve, Apple makes its first push into the server market since its Network Server product line. The Xserve is the first Apple machine to include Double Data Rate (DDR) RAM (price: $2,999-$3,999). May: Jobs kicks off the annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference by holding a mock funeral for OS 9. The point: Apple had stopped all development of the old Mac OS to focus entirely on Mac OS X. August: The Power Mac G4 hits the gigahertz mark. August: Apple releases its next major OS X update—OS X 10.2, code-named Jaguar

2003 January: iLife—a suite that includes iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, and iTunes—debuts, along with Safari, an Apple-built Web browser. April: Apple makes a splash in the music world, with the iTunes Music Store, an online music service where users legally can legally download more than 200,000 songs for as little as 99 cents each. August: The G5 processor debuts in the Power Mac line, topped by the dual-2GHz Power Mac G5 (price: $2,999). October: The latest update to OS X—code-named Panther—brings 150 new features and enhancements to the operating system. October: The transition from the G3 chip is complete, as the iBook adds G4 processors. October: Windows users learn the thrill of downloading 99-cent music tracks, as Apple releases a Windows version of iTunes.

2004 January: Apple expands its iPod offers to include the slender—and colorful—iPod mini (price: $249). January: Music creation comes to the iLife suite, as GarageBand is introduced into iLife ’04. January: Hewlett-Packard joins forces with Apple to sell HP-branded iPods. April: Apple expands its professional digital-video offerings with Motion, a motion-graphics program, and an updated version of Final Cut Pro that supports high-definition. June: The iTunes Music Store goes international, launching versions in France, Germany, and the U.K. July: After a six-year absence, the East Coast edition of Macworld Expo returns to Boston; large crowds, unfortunately, do not. August: The iMac gets a G5 processor and a new design—a flat-panel case that looks more like an LCD than a computer. October: Apple releases the first color-screen iPod (the iPod photo) and a black-and-red iPod dedicated to the rock band U2.

2005 January: The Keynote presentation software gets a long-awaited updated as part of the iWork ’05 suite that also introduces Pages. January: Apple goes small, introducing both a slimmed-down desktop—the Mac mini—and a flash-based music player—the iPod shuffle. April: Mac OS X undergoes its first major overhaul since late 2003, with the release of OS X 10.4—otherwise known as “Tiger.” June: At the Worldwide Developers’ Conference, Jobs announces Apple’s intention to switch to Intel for its processor needs, starting in 2006. June: iTunes 4.9 adds support for podcasts, which are now offered via the iTunes Music Store. August: After years of single-button mousing, Apple releases the multi-button Mighty Mouse. September: The popular iPod mini makes way for an even slimmer music player—the flash-based iPod nano. October: The fifth-generation iPod adds the ability to play videos—which, coincidentally, are now available for download from the iTunes Music Store via iTunes 6. October: An update to the iMac line marks the debut of Front Row multimedia management software for controlling music, video, and slideshow playback. October: The Power Mac line gets a processing boost with the introduction of dual-core chips—two processing engines on a single sliver of silicon.

2006 January: The first Intel-based Macs—a flat-panel iMac and the portable MacBook Pro—arrive. January: The iLife suite adds another component with the arrival of the Web site-creation tool, iWeb. February: The iTunes Music Store sells its 1 billionth song. February: With the addition of an Intel processor to the Mac mini line, half of Apple’s hardware offerings have made completed the Intel transition.

2007 January: The iPhone is unveiled at Macworld along with Apple TV. March: Apple TV makes a debut. June: The iPhone is available to buy US only. June: Safari 3.0 public beta, now available on Windows XP/Vista August: iMac new redesign with aluminum case. August: Mac Mini upgraded Core 2 Duo. August: iLife 08 released August: iWork 08 released September. The iPod Touch & iPod Nano 3rd Gen announced at Apple's Music event iPod shuffle updated with new colours, also the iPod is re-badged "iPod Classic" iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. October: OSX Leopard is Released November iPhone available in UK.

2008 January: Macworld, The MacBook Air & Time Capsule is unveiled. February: Apple Time Capsule available in shops. February: MacBook & MacBook Pro upgraded to penryn chips. June: W.W.D.C. iPhone 3G unveiled, Mobileme replaces .Mac, App Store unveiled, along with the IPhone 2.0 software July: iPhone 3G hits the shops, 2.0 software along with the App store available. September: iTunes 8.0 new Genius feature September: New iPod Nano thinner longer vibrant colours, iPod Touch thinner, external speaker built in Nike Plus. iPod Classic 80GB now 120GB one model only now available. iPod Shuffle new colours also available. September: iPhone software update 2.1 October: New MacBook & MacBook Pro's new cases thinner with glass track pad's black bezel backlit keyboards. New NVIDIA graphics chip also MacBook Air gets the bump up. Price increase on all.

2009 January: Macworld, The new MacBook Pro 17" is unveiled non removable battery, no Steve Jobs due to ill health so its down to big Phil. iLife 09 and iWork 09 introduced. iTunes DRM free music from April 2009 very boring Macworld this year to say it is Apples last one! 3 March 2009: Mac Pro update with Nehalem Xeon 3500 Processor, updated interior, mini Displayport 3 March 2009: MacBook Pro 15" quietly updated to 2.66/2.93GHz 3 March 2009: iMac updated, cheaper 24" model, 4GB RAM on 24" models, mini displayport, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M or GT 120/130 3 March 2009: Mac mini update, 120/320GB HDD, mini displayport and mini DVI, 5 USB ports, GeForce 9400M integrated graphics 3 March 2009: Airport Extreme and Time Capsule now feature dual band Wifi 3 March 2009: New wired keyboard option features no number-pad (similar to wireless model) 11 March 2009: New iPod Shuffle (3rd gen) smaller 4GB two colours silver and black new voice over function tells you what song is playing etc £59.00 8 June 2009: 104 Safari 4.0 released at WWDC 8 June 2009: iPhone software 3.0 shipping June 17 8 June 2009: iPhone 3Gs announced, shipping June 19. Same design, faster, better battery life, supports video capture 8 June 2009: MacBook 13" unibody now classified as MacBook Pro with updated features 8 June 2009: MacBook Air updated, upto 2.13GHz 8 June 2009: 153 MacBook Pro models updates at WWDC, 13" now a Pro model. 15" now includes SD card slot, upto 8GB RAM 28 August 2009: Snow Leopard debuts 9 September 2009: Keynote Steve Jobs returns to a standing ovation! new iPod nano includes video camera 2.2" screen fm radio with voice over. 9 September 2009: Keynote: iPhone 3.1 software available also today. 9 September 2009: Keynote: iPod shuffle sees new colours and a stainless steel version. 9 September 2009: Keynote: iPod touch updated faster chip bigger GB 14 September 2009: Apple TV update 40GB model discontinued 160GB price drop. 20 October 2009: iMac update the 20" and 24" models are gone, replaced by 21.5" and 27" the line now includes the first quad-core iMac ever Now have SD Card slot. 20 October 2009: Macmini update Both models get speed and storage bump, also server model is available with twin 500gb hard drives. 20 October 2009: MacBook update now with plastic unibody case speed and mermory bump but looses ports no firewire! no separate audio in/out. 20 October 2009: Magic Mouse the first multi touch mouse the top surface is like a touchpad comes standard with new iMacs 20 October 2009: Apple remote updated now silver with black buttons.

2010

27 January 2010: Yerba Buena Centre San Francisco. Steve Jobs unveils the iPad a 0.5" 13.4mm touch  screen tablet, using apple's first 1GHZ A4 chip..

3 April 2010: iPad launch US only. Pre orders exceed expectations.

8 April 2010: iPhone OS 4.0 preview available this summer multitasking,wallpaper,folders,unified inbox,ibooks

13 April 2010: MacBook Pro updates, 13" 2.4/2.66GHz, 15" with Intel i5 & i7 (2.4-2.66GHz), 17" with Intel i5 (2.53GHz), all with faster NVIDIA

18 May 2010: MacBook updated 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor 2 GB RAM 250 GB 5400 RPM hd NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics card

28 May 2010: iPad UK launch prices £429 16GB, £499 32GB, £599 64GB,|£528,£599,£699, for WiFi & 3G versions.

7 June 2010: WWDC Steve Jobs unveils iPhone 4 new design thinner, glass back, 5 Mega pixel camera also front facing for "Facetime" video chat.

7 June 2010: WWDC Safari 5 released faster java etc.

15 June 2010: macmini updated all aluminium unibody case, HDMI port SD slot, removable cover for ram access

24 June 2010: iPhone 4 Launches in US & UK plus other countries, 1.7 million units sold in first weekend, marred by signal issue.

27 July 2010: Magic Trackpad supports a full set of gestures, including two-finger scrolling, pinching to zoom, rotating with your fingertips, three-finger swiping and four finger recognition £59.

27 July 2010: iMac updated with latest Intel core i3 i5 & i7 processors.

01 September 2010: San Francisco iPod music event: New Shuffle back are the buttons square design, New Touch screen nano 1.61"x1.48" with belt clip.

01 September 2010: San Francisco iPod music event: New iPod Touch thinner with retina display built in mic, Front facing camera for Facetime.

01 September 2010: San Francisco iPod music event: New Apple TV no storage option??? streaming only, and renting option only no purchases??? £99.00 very small 3.9" sqaure.

21 October 2010: The back to the mac event: Steve Jobs previews new iLife 11 and Mac X Lion due summer 2011, New MacBook Air thinner ssd storage.

6 January 2011: The Mac App store goes live bringing ios apps to your Macs

11 January 2011: Apple and Verizon announced the Verizon-compatible iPhone today. The new iPhone 4 is functionally identical to the existing AT&T/GSM iPhone 4, but has been made CDMA compatible to run on Verizon's network. It seems there have been some antenna changes to the design with an additional antenna break in the casing.

18 January 2011: Steve Jobs takes a medical leave of absence share prices dip ahead of earnings call.

24 February 2011: MacBook Pro Updated All i processors new graphics chipsets throughout, thunderbolt port (Lightpeak) lighter with bigger track pad and HD camera