Eight Apple Products and Services Make Fortune's List of Top 100 'Greatest Designs of Modern Times'

Fortune today published a list of the 100 "greatest designs of modern times," featuring products that have made people's lives simpler, better, and more stylish.

iphonelineupguide b
Apple's iPhone, which first came out in 2007 and has since been updated every year, made the number one spot on the list for the way that it has "transformed human communication" and impacted almost every aspect of our lives.

"An iPod, a phone, an Internet communicator" was how the late Steve Jobs announced the iPhone to the world in 2007. At the time it was an impressive claim. Now it seems like a massive understatement for a device that changed how we live. Analysts were initially skeptical that Apple could succeed selling a premium phone for $499 in a market in which most devices were subsidized or given away by carriers. But by relentlessly pushing the envelope of hardware and software design, adding a professional-grade camera, and creating an ecosystem of apps and services, Apple has sold more than 2 billion iPhones--and in the process has become the most valuable company in the world.

Another Apple product, the 1984 Macintosh, made the second spot on the list for defining the personal computer revolution.

Six other Apple products were also included on the list in various spots. The 2001 iPod came in 10th, the 2006 MacBook Pro took the 14th spot, the App Store was 22nd, iOS is in the 29th spot, the Apple Watch made the list at spot number 46, and Apple Pay was also included as the 64th product on the list.

For its list, Fortune teamed up with the IIT Institute of Design and polled educators, influencers, freelance designers, and corporate design teams on the designs they consider "truly great," using that information to compile a top 100 list.

The complete list, which also includes products and services like Google Search, the Sony Walkman, Uber, Netflix, Google Maps, the Tesla Model S, and more, can be found on Fortune's website.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
maxresdefault

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Macworld claims to have access to an ...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

calzon65 Avatar
75 months ago
I refused to use a Blackberry when everyone had a love affair with them, but when I saw the iPhone, I knew at that moment, that was the future versus the Blackberry with all its buttons.

Apple and Steve Jobs hit a home-run with the iPhone design ... it set the stage for ALL smartphones and tablets of today.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CrazyForCashews Avatar
75 months ago
This list is accurate as the iPhone is number 1.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Feyl Avatar
75 months ago
I would replace that MacBook Pro with MacBook Air.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeepIn2U Avatar
75 months ago

This list is accurate as the iPhone is number 1.
hmm. I’d say the Macintosh should be number #1 and OS X should be #2 for Apple as both was needed before the iPhone could take place. Took Apple 3 yrs before a “professional grade camera” was added - iPhone4. (iPhone 3G/3GS having a VGA camera while others already had 3-5mp cameras with decent quality is NOT professional all pics where blurry as crap).

2006 MacBook Pro? I keep forgettingMBP existed before the 2008 unibody designs.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wordup60 Avatar
75 months ago
Great list. I would have chosen the 2008 unibody Macbook Pro over the 2006 model though. The single piece of aluminium body is still the benchmark in laptop design, and apart from minor tweaks, has held up to this day.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
75 months ago
No iPad?!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)