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Apple celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Without Steve Jobs, there would be no Mac or iPhone.
Apple has launched no major new products since the Apple Watch.
Apple turns 50 on April 1, 2026. You'd think this would be a celebration not only of the company and its many landmark products -- the Apple II, the Mac, and the iPhone -- but also of its legendary founders, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.
In neither Apple's official 50th-anniversary announcement nor CEO Tim Cook's birthday letter are either of the two founders mentioned. While Cook praises "The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently," he doesn't mention the original misfit pair that set Apple's course for its first 40 years. When asked about this oversight, Apple didn't reply. I hope Apple will correct it.
In my view, since the Jobs era, Apple's success has not come from thinking differently, but from two major factors. The first of these is its locked-in ecosystem, which keeps its users buying Apple products because they won't work with other devices and programs. Another major factor is its marketing, which has made it the only luxury technology brand.
But it didn't start that way. Apple began as a scrappy garage outfit selling bare circuit boards.
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