Happy Birthday, Apple! CNET Reminisces on 50 Years of Tech and Events

Happy 50th Birthday, Apple. On April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne launched the Apple Computer Company (renamed Apple in 2007) to sell the Apple Computer 1 (Apple-I) — without a monitor or keyboard. 

Now 50 years later, Apple has evolved into one of the world’s largest companies with an extensive lineup of devices, including smartphones, laptops, earbuds, tablets and smartwatches. Beyond its personal gadgets, Apple has evolved into the smart home and entertainment spaces with the Vision Pro, HomePod and Apple TV. For many of us, including myself, it’s literally the apple of my eye. I’m deep into Apple’s ecosystem, between my iPhone 17 Pro Max, MacBook Pro, iPad Mini, AirPods Pro 2 and Apple Watch. 

But let’s be honest — Apple hasn’t always gotten it right. Some products and features flopped, like the Apple Newton and iTunes Ping, while others were overrated, like the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset (more on that below). 

I asked CNET writers and editors to reminisce about Apple’s legacy, and it’s clear we all respect Apple for thinking differently — a phrase used in one of its most iconic ad campaigns, narrated by Richard Dreyfuss.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. 

These Apple gadgets saved us over the years

AirPods Pro hearing test

When many of us found ourselves in an SOS moment, we turned to our Apple devices and features for help in a pinch. For Anna Gragert, CNET’s wellness editor, the AirPods hearing test assured her that her hearing was normal after dealing with hearing loss and recovering. Now, the Reminders app is helping her remember to take her medications on time. 

Watch this: Apple AirPods Pro 2 Can Test Your Hearing

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Apple Watch with cellular connectivity

Mike Sorrentino, CNET’s mobile senior editor, recalls his phone battery dying, but being able to use the cellular connection on his Apple Watch to coordinate a ride home after returning from a trip. And the Apple Watch gets credit for identifying life-saving health data that prompted many of our loved ones to seek care. 

Find My

However, Apple’s Find My app is the biggest feature that’s saved many of us. It helps locate your Apple devices and loved ones who share their location with you. Ty Pendlebury, CNET’s streaming editor, remembers using the app to find his phone that he had accidentally left on a bench in Central Park.

David Katzmaier, CNET’s editor-in-chief, used Find My to locate an AirPod that his daughter lost. The good news is that he found it, but the bad news is that it was in another county. You can even use the Find My network to find your dead iPhone from another Apple device. 

Watch this: Apple’s Find My vs. Android’s Find My Device Network

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The most underrated Apple device is the long-gone iPod

Our team can’t agree on just one underrated Apple device. The Apple Pencil takes the iPad’s capabilities to a new level, and the 13-inch MacBook Air is powerful, lightweight and small enough to fit on an airplane tray table. But some devices don’t get enough credit, like the iPod, which was discontinued in 2022. 

iPod Classic

Zach McAuliffe, CNET’s software and services writer, loved the iPod Classic for its simplicity. “Take me back to when you had to connect your iPod to a computer to upload music to it. Without the iPod Classic, we wouldn’t have the iPhone. Plain and simple,” he says.

iPod Nano

And Katelyn Chedraoui, CNET’s AI writer, wants the iPod Nano back now. It was the perfect size, came in fun colors and did exactly what it was supposed to do,” Chedraoui says. “Even just the sound of clicking through your library is nostalgic. I would love to use it now while I’m working or exercising to avoid being inundated by my phone’s notifications.”

The Apple Watch and Vision Pro are the most overrated 

On the other hand, it’s a toss-up between which Apple products are the most overrated. CNET staffers have varying hot takes on what’s really worth the money, but for some, the Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro are the most overrated. 

Apple Watch

As for the Apple Watch, David Watsky, CNET’s home tech managing editor, has a take I’ve heard before. 

“I find them to be information overkill, and it’s not healthy to have that much data attached to your body,” he says. 

Apple Vision Pro

Meanwhile, a couple of CNET writers don’t believe that the Vision Pro is worth its $3,500 price, especially for the average person. CNET principal writer Scott Stein shared that Apple’s headset’s price is its biggest downside. There aren’t enough apps, there are glitches, and it’s absurdly expensive, he says, 

Jeff Carlson, CNET’s mobile senior writer, says the Vision Pro is an answer in search of a market rather than a solution to a problem (like most Apple devices). But he still believes there’s a chance the VR headset could become the most underrated device, especially if the price drops. 

iPhone Pro

Other overrated products include the iPhone Pro. Katzmaier says he’s had the base model for years and hasn’t missed the telephoto lens, which has also saved him money. 

Here are the 50th anniversary products we want Apple to release

Apple has been known to surprise us over the years. So far, this year, it has added the MacBook Neo, iPhone 17E and AirPods Max 2 to its product lineup. 

There’s no word on whether Apple will be dropping a new device on its 50th birthday, but the company has been full of surprises lately. CNET staffers are torn over what 50th-anniversary gadget Apple might release, if any. Some want Apple to add a new product to the lineup — like an Apple TV that’s actually a TV set, a smart ring (like the Oura ring) or an electric vehicle. 

Others want Apple to release something nostalgic, like an iPod or a retro iMac case. Still others hope for a fresh take on a gadget already in Apple’s lineup, like a foldable iPhone (rumors say it could be coming later this year). And yet other CNET staff hope for a limited-edition Apple Watch with a special band to commemorate the original Apple Computer 1’s 50th anniversary. 

There’s no telling if there will be a new or special-edition product, so we’ll have to wait and see. 

Our favorite (and frustrating) Apple moments

Some of our favorite moments are sweet and simple, like Nasha Addarich Martínez, CNET’s managing editor, who loves the sound of turning on a new MacBook for the first time. And McAuliffe recalls using an iPhone for the first time in 2016, after having an Android, and finally understanding the hype. 

Others are bolder and venturesome, like Vanessa Hand Orellana, CNET’s mobile lead writer, who launched iPhones off a 20-foot boom lift at the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES as part of an iPhone case drop test. Of the 12 cases, only four iPhones emerged unscathed.

Watch this: The toughest cases drop to the death at CES

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But Apple has some quirks that our team isn’t fond of. Every day that Pendlebury logs into his work laptop, it sends a multi-factor authentication notification to his kid’s iPad to access iTunes and the App Store on his work MacBook — which can be annoying. And Lumb has a lifelong vendetta against Apple Podcasts for its less-than-ideal functionality.

The questions we wish we could all ask Steve Jobs

We all know Steve Jobs as Apple’s former CEO and a pioneer. His vision for the company leaves us with many questions, ranging from his personal life to his relationship with Steve Wozniak and his thoughts on generative AI and LLMs. There’s a lot we want to know. 

The bigger questions we have are around what Apple has become today. Like, what product design choices would have made him cringe, and would he hate the fact that the Magic Mouse’s charging port is on the bottom like the rest of us? The charging port is still at the bottom, even in 2026, which may hint that Apple wants to maintain a sleek design, but we don’t know for sure.

By the way, back in 2011, Jobs stated in his biography that he finally cracked the TV. Knowing that Apple planned to expand into the TV category, we’re curious about what he meant by this.

We’re also curious what he would think of Apple today, especially around topics like AI and services. We also want to know what he’s most and least proud of regarding his company’s impact on technology. 

There are a few other eyebrow-raising questions, like whether he would have given President Donald Trump a 24K gold-and-glass statue, as Apple CEO Tim Cook did. 

All in all, Apple means a lot to us

Summing up how Apple has impacted our lives as tech experts is tough. Even for Chedraoui, who’s never lived in a world without an iPhone. 

“I was a kid when the first iPhone dropped, and I never wanted a BlackBerry or Nokia or flip phone — I wanted a smartphone, and I wanted an iPhone,” she says. “There was no world in which Apple wasn’t my ideal tech dream.” 

Patrick Holland, CNET’s director of content, says Apple is “wildly innovative” and deliberately slow to enter new product categories in order to launch a device that gets things right from the start (mostly). That approach has led the company to develop products and features we both want and need, like MagSafe, which makes it easy to wirelessly charge your iPhone without an outlet. Or Find My, which reduces the headaches of locating your keys — if they’re attached to an AirTag. 

There is so much that comes to mind when we hear the word Apple. From its rainbow Macintosh logo to dominating the consumer tech space with devices like the iconic iPhone, watching Major League Soccer games on weekends thanks to Apple TV and doing Apple Fitness Plus workouts from my living room. For each of us, Apple means something different, but creating tech that challenges us to think differently is what Apple’s best at. So, happy birthday, Apple. Here’s to 50 more.