History of Apple
Apple Inc. was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California. Their first product, the Apple I, was a computer kit assembled by Wozniak. This was followed by the Apple II, one of the first mass-produced microcomputers to achieve commercial success, establishing Apple's early presence in the personal computing market.
In the 1980s, Apple introduced the Macintosh, notable for its graphical user interface. The company encountered internal conflicts and competitive pressure during this period, and Jobs departed in 1985. He returned in 1997, after which Apple launched a series of products that repositioned it in the consumer electronics market, beginning with the iMac and continuing with the iPod music player.
The iPhone, released in 2007, redefined the smartphone category with its touch-based interface and application ecosystem. The iPad followed in 2010. By the 2010s, Apple had become one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. Its revenue is concentrated in the iPhone segment, supplemented by services, Mac, and wearable devices.
Apple has maintained a significant research and development presence in Israel since the 1990s, with engineering centres involved in chip design, machine learning, and hardware components. The company acquired several Israeli technology firms, including Anobit in 2012 and PrimeSense in 2013. Apple's operations in Israel, combined with its employee donation-matching programme that directed funds to organisations connected to the Israeli military, have placed it on BDS boycott lists maintained by various Palestinian solidarity organisations.