Apple Introduces Boot Camp, April 5, 2006:
Apple® today introduced Boot Camp, public beta software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP
“Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware now that we use Intel processors,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “We think Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch.”Perhaps one of the wisest decisions Apple has made in regard to user migration, and a no-brainer after the transition to Intel processors.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt joins Apple’s Board of Directors, August 29, 2006:
“Eric is obviously doing a terrific job as CEO of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of Apple’s board of directors,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric’s insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead.”
"Apple is one of the companies in the world that I most admire,” said Eric Schmidt. “I'm really looking forward to working with Steve and Apple’s board to help with all of the amazing things Apple is doing.”Unfortunately this partnership lasted less than three years, as conflicts of interests continuously arose, primarily competition in the mobile phone market.
Apple reinvents the phone with iPhone, January 9, 2007:
Apple® today introduced iPhone, combining three products—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod® with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps—into one small and lightweight handheld device.
“iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We are all born with the ultimate pointing device—our fingers—and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse.”Incredibly tame by today’s standards, the original iPhone lacked many essential features, such as multitasking and copy and paste. Initially, the only applications available where a handful provided by Apple and Google. Yet and still, the iPhone provided the kick in the butt needed to begin real innovation in the mobile market.
Apple ships the AppleTV, March 21, 2007:
The seamless integration of Apple TV and iTunes lets users choose from over 400 movies and 350 TV shows in near DVD quality; over four million songs; 5,000 music videos; 100,000 podcasts; and 20,000 audiobooks from the iTunes Store.
“Apple TV is like a DVD player for the Internet age—providing an easy and fun way to play all your favorite iTunes content from your PC or Mac on your widescreen TV,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.Ah, the good ole days when standard definition content was still acceptable and media was still served locally.
Apple Introduces MacBook Air – Worlds Thinnest Notebook, Jan 15, 2008:
MacBook Air measures an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks […] powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.While undoubtedly incredibly thin, the original MacBook Air was underpowered and underwhelming. It also suffered from overheating issues.
Apple Introduces the iPhone 3G, June 9, 2008:
Apple® today introduced the new iPhone™ 3G, combining all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast* as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.
“Just one year after launching the iPhone, we’re launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.A true demonstration of how quickly technology evolves. The iPhone 3G was a major improvement over the original iPhone. Two years later, it is a dinosaur compared to the current iPhone 4.
Apple Unveils Mac OS X Snow Leopard, June 8, 2009:
For the first time, system applications including Finder, Mail, iCal®, iChat® and Safari are 64-bit and Snow Leopard’s support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance, and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications.
“We’ve built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before.”While Snow Leopard was certainly an evolutionary, not revolutionary upgrade to the Mac OS, it helped push crucial innovations, such as 64-bit computing and GPU hardware acceleration.
Apple Launches iPad, Jan 27, 2010:
Apple® today introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. iPad’s responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch™ display lets users physically interact with applications and content.
“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”Apple Presents iPhone 4, June 7, 2010:
Apple® today presented the new iPhone® 4 featuring FaceTime, which makes the dream of video calling a reality, and Apple’s stunning new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in super crisp text, images and video
“iPhone 4 is the biggest leap since the original iPhone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “FaceTime video calling sets a new standard for mobile communication, and our new Retina display is the highest resolution display ever in a phone, with text looking like it does on a fine printed page.”The iPad was prematurely mocked as being a large iPod Touch, while the iPhone 4 was plagued with antenna engineering defect. Despite this, both products have sold remarkably well and continued the trend of setting precedence for mobile devices going forward.
This was post was part 2 of a 3 part series. To view the press releases of the first half of the decade, click here. To view the obscure, yet equally notable announcements, click here.
