Apple Inc
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company with headquarters
in Cupertino, California. The company designs, develops, and sells consumer
electronics, computer software, and online services. The company's hardware
products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac
personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch
smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart
speaker. Apple's consumer software includes the macOS and iOS operating
systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and
iWork creativity and productivity suites. Its online services include the
iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.
Apple was founded by
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell
personal computers. It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January
1977, and sales of its computers saw significant momentum and revenue growth
for the company. Within a few years, they had hired a staff of computer
designers and had a production line.
Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success. Over the next few
years, Apple shipped new computers featuring innovative graphical user
interfaces, and Apple's marketing commercials for its products received
widespread critical acclaim. However, the high price tag of its products and
limited software titles caused problems, as did power struggles between
executives at the company. Jobs resigned from Apple and created his own
company.
As the market for personal computers increased, Apple's computers saw
diminishing sales due to lower-priced products from competitors, in
particular those offered with the Microsoft Windows operating system. More
executive job shuffles happened at Apple until then-CEO Gil Amelio in 1997
decided to buy Jobs' company to bring him back.
Jobs
regained position as CEO, and began a process to rebuild Apple's status,
which included opening Apple's own retail stores in 2001, making numerous
acquisitions of software companies to create a portfolio of software titles,
and changed some of the hardware technology used in its computers. It again
saw success and returned to profitability. In January 2007,
Jobs
announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would be renamed Apple Inc. to reflect
its shifted focus toward consumer electronics and announced the iPhone,
which saw critical acclaim and significant financial success. In August
2011, Jobs resigned as CEO due to health complications, and Tim Cook became
the new CEO. Two months later, Jobs died, marking the end of an era for the
company.
Apple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue and
the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung. In
February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at over
US$700 billion. The company employs 116,000 full-time employees as of
October 2016 and maintains 498 retail stores in 22 countries as of July
2017. It operates the iTunes Store, which is the world's largest music
retailer. As of January 2016, more than one billion Apple products are
actively in use worldwide.
Apple's worldwide annual revenue totaled $215 billion for the 2016 fiscal
year. The company enjoys a high level of brand loyalty and has been
repeatedly ranked as the world's most valuable brand. However, it receives
significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors and
its environmental and business practices, including the origins of source
materials.
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