Today Marks the 45th Anniversary of Apple's Founding

Today marks the 45th anniversary of Apple, co-founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976. Wayne sold his 10% share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak just 12 days later to avoid financial risk, which is unfortunate in hindsight given that his stake would be worth more than $200 billion today.

jobs wozniak 1976
Apple's history began in the garage of Jobs' childhood home in Los Altos, California, where he worked with Wozniak to test the first Apple I computer systems in 1975. Jobs then reached a sales agreement with a small computer store named the Byte Shop in nearby Mountain View, California, which began selling the Apple I in July 1976 for $666.66. Wozniak later said he chose that price because he liked repeating digits.

From near-bankruptcy in the late 1990s to becoming the world's most valuable public company by the 2010s, Apple has been through a series of highs and lows over the past four and a half decades. The company has introduced several iconic products over that time, most notably including the Macintosh in 1984, the iPod in 2001, and the iPhone in 2007, with Jobs becoming well known for his charismatic keynote presentations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on the company's 45th anniversary today on Twitter, sharing a quote from Jobs and thanking employees.

Apple recently capped off its most financially successful year ever with a record $111 billion revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020. The company is now valued at over $2 trillion, and its future is expected to include greater pushes into areas like AR/VR and artificial intelligence as technology continues to evolve beyond screens.

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s Gets New Software Update 13 Years After Launch

Monday January 26, 2026 3:56 pm PST by
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released. iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Apple Creator Studio

Apple's Next Launch is Today

Tuesday January 27, 2026 2:39 pm PST by
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available. Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year. A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...
apple silicon 1 feature

Apple Responds to Skyrocketing RAM and Storage Chip Prices

Thursday January 29, 2026 2:40 pm PST by
On an earnings call with equity analysts today, Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to fast-rising RAM and SSD storage chip prices in the supply chain. Cook said that rising memory chip prices had a "minimal impact" on Apple's gross margin in the fourth quarter of the 2025 calendar year, but he does expect a "bit more of an impact" on the company's gross margin in the current quarter. Cook added ...

Top Rated Comments

dc.lotus Avatar
63 months ago
Anytime you kick yourself for not buying AAPL sooner, you can always console yourself with "well, at least I'm not Ron Wayne."
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ani4ani Avatar
63 months ago

Kinda sucks that I'm typing "happy 45th b-Day" to Apple on my Dell XPS 9380.
Better than “hppy 445 bthdy“ with your butterfly keyboard ?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MBAir2010 Avatar
63 months ago
Kinda sucks that I'm typing "happy 45th b-Day" to Apple on my Dell XPS 9380.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cosmosent Avatar
63 months ago

Is Woz seen as a bit of a liability then these days? No mention of him in the credit.
I doubt it, there would be NO Apple without him.

It was the combination of the two, with very little Overlap, that made Apple the early success that it was.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cosmosent Avatar
63 months ago
The first 1/3 OR so of the Steve Jobs bio by Walter Isaacson is a fantastic read !
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
63 months ago
Happy 45th anniversary ??
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)