6 Key turning points that drove Apple to top

1996: Steve Jobs rejoined Apple

A phase when Apple computer was going through the worst phrase of its history, thanks to Wintel partnership which took over the PC market. Apple was approaching bankruptcy with each passing quarter. The company purchased Steve Jobs’ startup NeXT to build a new Unix-based OS. After a year, Jobs replaced the existing CEO and marked the beginning of a new era with the help of some financial backing from business rival Bill Gates.

1998: Original iMac launched

Since Steve Jobs was the new leader, he took many bold decisions like selling factories, cutting 11 of 15 products, cutting R&D budget by 50%, unloading workforce, and even reached out to Bill Gates to assure Apple’s rebirth. Apple redefined the whole personal computing space with the launch of all-in-one iMac, which brought the good days back to Apple. iMac became highlight popular among people, thanks to an array of translucent hues. This launch drove Apple back to profitability.

2001: iPod and Mac OS X changed fortunes

While Apple partially settled tis feet in the computing space and gained a loyal consumer base, Steve Jobs had something else in mind. In 2001, Apple launched the latest Unix-based Max OS X and the original iPod. Jobs was aware of the changing trends and had a strong belief in Apple’s strategic move of focusing on a compact piece of technology. iPod soon became a trend and was sold like hotcakes. It laid the groundwork for Apple to take over Microsoft .

2001: Apple stores

In the year of 2001, Apple already started catching up with the competition and was looked as a threat to market leaders. The idea of opening a dedicated store was unconventional but it worked, like other ideas from Jobs’ end.

2007: The iPhones were here

As everyone was expecting, Apple delivered the original iPhone in 2007. It was not just a smartphone, it turned out to be a revolution in the mobile phone history. Although mobile phones were had their presence in the market from couple of years but they were nothing close to the iPhone. On top of that, Apple launched its App Store—which allowed the users to download application to enable additional functions on the phone. iPhone along with the App Store is still seen as a revolution in mobile phone history.

2010: iPad launched to disrupt incumbents

Apple was one company that was not playing into the tablet category, while many major players launched their iterations in the market. It was the tablet device from Apple that is a perfect mix of a smartphone and a computer. Like the iPods and the iPhone, iPad soon became a status symbol and broke all the sales records this time. The Apple stores again saw long queues soon after the iPad hit the stores. Supply was never an issue with Apple and that's one major reason behind its glory.

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Sudhanshu Singh have been working in tech journalism as a reporter, writer, editor, and reviewer for over 5 years. He has reviewed hundreds of products ranging across categories and have also written opinions, guides, feature articles, news, and analysis. Ditching the norm of armchair journalism in tech media, Sudhanshu dug deep into how emerging products and services affect actual users, and what marks they leave on our cultural landscape.
His areas of expertise along with writing and editing include content strategy, daily operations, product and team management.

The view from the top is always the best, but the journey from the scratch to the top is not as pleasant as the view. No marvel can be achieved with missing devotedness in the process, and Apple is a perfect example to prove this. Like its founder Steve Jobs, the corporation has also seen some serious highs and lows on its journey to becoming the best in its playground.

In 1980’s Steve Jobs was fired from the company he co-founded, which lead to a free fall of its relevance, innovation and dropped market share. It’s more than a decade after Jobs returned to Apple, and his arrival was one of the most remarkable turning point for the company. It took over Microsoft in market capitalisation, making it the most valuable technology company in the world.

The achievement is even more remarkable because Apple has a single-digit share in the computer market. It’s closest rival Microsoft runs on about 90 per cent of the world’s computer market. Apart from out of the crowd products, Apple has worked well to invest its brand image in creating a halo effect among the consumers. Taking right decisions at right time, building and strengthening supply chain over the course of years, and some other future proof tactics helped Apple to set its foundation for the expected demand.