The One Thing That Makes Apple a Totally Different Company Now

4 minute read

In my 34 years of closely watching Apple, I’ve seen it go through plenty of life stages. For most of Apple’s life, it has been a technology company. But after Steve Jobs rejoined the company in 1997, it began to take on a new persona.

I met with Jobs on the second day he was back at Apple, during a very dark time in its history. When Jobs returned, Apple was in the red to the tune of $1 billion and only two months from bankruptcy. When I asked Jobs how he planned to rescue Apple, he told me the first thing he would do is take care of his core customers, meaning Mac owners using them for graphics design, desktop publishing and engineering.

But the second thing Jobs told me startled me: He said he would start focusing on industrial design. I remember scratching my head at his statement — I just couldn’t imagine how industrial design could save Apple. Of course, just a year later, Jobs introduced the candy-colored iMacs, forever changing what a personal computer could look like. Jobs then went on to make design a core tenet of Apple’s future, making the iPod, iPhone and iPad into sleek works of art, undoubtedly helping turn Apple into the behemoth it is today.

This Is How Apple Teases All Its Huge Announcements

iTunes Launch On Windows, October 2003, Cupertino
iTunes launch on Windows, October 2003Apple
iPod Nano, September 2005, Cupertino
iPod Nano, September 2005Apple
5th Generation iPod, October 2005, Cupertino
5th Generation iPod, October 2005Apple
iTunes 7 With Movies, September 2006, Cupertino
iTunes 7 with movies, September 2006Apple
iPhone 2007 Macworld Invitation.
iPhone, January 2007Apple
iPod Touch, September 2007, Cupertino
iPod Touch, September 2007Apple
MacBook Air, January 2008Apple
App Store and iPhone 3G 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference Invitation.
App Store & iPhone 3G, June 2008Apple
2nd Generation iPod Touch, September 2008, Cupertino
2nd Generation iPod Touch, September 2008Apple
iPhone 3GS, 2009, Worldwide Developers Conference
iPhone 3GS, June 2009Apple
3rd Generation iPod Touch, September 2009, Cupertino
3rd Generation iPod Touch, September 2009Apple
iPad, 2010, Cupertino
iPad, January 2010Apple
iPhone 4, 2010, Worldwide Developers Conference
iPhone 4, June 2010Apple
4th Generation iPod Touch, September 2010, Cupertino
4th Generation iPod Touch, September 2010Apple
Macbooks With Unibody-Design, September 2010, Cupertino
MacBooks with unibody design, September 2010Apple
2nd Generation Macbook Air, October 2010, Cupertino
2nd Generation MacBook Air, October 2010Apple
iPad 2, 2011, Cupertino
iPad 2, March 2011Apple
iCloud & iOS 5, June 2011Apple
iPhone 4S, 2011, Cupertino
iPhone 4S, October 2011Apple
iBooks 2 & iBooks Author, January 2012, New York
iBooks 2 & iBooks Author, January 2012Apple
3rd Generation iPad/strong>, 2012, Cupertino
3rd Generation iPad, March 2012Apple
Macbook Pro With Retina Display, June 2012, Worldwide Developers Conference
MacBook Pro with Retina display, June 2012Apple
iPhone 5, 2012, Cupertino
iPhone 5, September 2012Apple
iPad Mini, October 2012, Cupertino
iPad Mini, October 2012Apple
iPhone 5S & iPhone 5C, 2013, Cupertino
iPhone 5S & iPhone 5C, September 2013Apple
iPad Air & iPad Mini With Retina Display, 2013, Cupertino
iPad Air & iPad Mini with Retina display, October 2013Apple
iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus & iOS 8, Cupertino
iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus & iOS 8, September 2014Apple
iPad Air 2 & iPad Mini 3 & Apple Pay, October 2014Apple
Apple Watch, March 2015, Cupertino
Apple Watch, March 2015Apple

Apple Senior Vice President of Design Jony Ive was recently profiled by The New Yorker in a piece that made clear Apple’s focus on design has become a strategic piece of its mission. But even with Apple’s focus on design, I still consider it a tech company first and foremost. Still, a good friend of mine, Ben Thompson of Stratchery, recently wrote another excellent piece (subscription required) that puts Jobs’ 1997 comments to me into a new perspective.

“When I stated previously that Apple has always been a personal computer company, that is because Jobs believed so deeply in the potential of the computer to change people’s lives. If Ive, as this profile argues, now serves Jobs’ function as the soul of Apple, my characterization is surely obsolete: perhaps we need to think of Apple as a design company with a specialty in computers, not the other way around. And it’s much more plausible to imagine that Apple building a car.”

Thompson was primarily referring to rumors Apple might be working on a car, but his overall perspective is important. As Thompson writes, if Ive is now driving Apple, that could turn the company into a more design-focused firm free to create products outside its historical business model.

I still have trouble believing Apple is building an entirely new car instead of just working on car software. But if Apple’s top leadership has fully embraced industrial design, Apple could be free to create not only cars and watches, but anything that could be tied into Apple’s app and services ecosystem.

After more than three decades of understanding Apple by following its history, I have to admit that we could be witnessing the birth of a new Apple. For a lot of us, that means giving up our preconceived notions of what Apple is today in order to understand where it’s going tomorrow.

Tim Bajarin is recognized as one of the leading industry consultants, analysts and futurists, covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. Mr. Bajarin is the President of Creative Strategies, Inc. and has been with the company since 1981, where he has served as a consultant providing analysis to many of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry.

Read next: The Biggest Misconception About Apple

11 Amazing Features of the Apple Watch

File picture shows an Apple Watch during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino
The Apple Watch is the company's' first entirely new product category since the original iPad. It's a huge gamble for Apple and a test of the still-nascent wearable market.Stephen Lam—Reuters/Corbis
Apple Unveils iPhone 6
The Watch is the most customizable and varied product Apple has likely ever launched. It'll come in three editions made of different metals and be available with multiple snap-in wrist bands. Prices start at $349.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Apple Unveils iPhone 6
The Watch has a touch interface that can sense the difference between a light touch and hard press. But it also has a "digital crown" that allows users to quickly scroll through lists without obscuring the screen.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook wears the Apple Watch and shows the iPhone 6 Plus during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino
The Watch must be paired with an iPhone for many of its functions. The device piggybacks on the phone's data and GPS connections to pipe in directions or incoming voice calls and text messages, for instance.Stephen Lam—Reuters
New Apple Watch is pictured during an Apple event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino
The Watch, like Apple's other iDevices, will have various independent apps. Examples include a Tesla app that shows the status of your electric car when it's charging and a Starwood app that lets the Watch act as your room key.Stephen Lam—Reuters
An Apple Watch is shown during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino
Apple's fitness app, one of the device's main selling points, tracks runs, walks and bike rides.Stephen Lam—Reuters
Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino
The Watch also can track your heart rate (while resting, while active) throughout the day thanks to these light sensors on the back.Koichi Mitsui—AFLO/Corbis
Apple Unveils iPhone 6
It also has Apple Pay, the company's digital payments platform. Swipe the Watch in front of a compatible kiosk and it will make an automatic online payment.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Apple Unveils iPhone 6
CEO Tim Cook has said the Watch will last about a day before it needs to be recharged. So far, battery life has been the biggest downside of most wearables. The Watch recharges through the magnetic system shown here.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Apple Unveils iPhone 6
The Watch will come with many customizable bands that slip on and click in place at the top and bottom of the device's body.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Apple introduces Apple Watch
It also comes in two sizes, 38mm and 42mm, to fit on different size wrists.Monica Davey—EPA
Apple Watch is shown on screen during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertin
Higher-end models of the watch could cost several thousands of dollars.Stephen Lam—Reuters
Apple Unveils New iPad Models
Apple is significantly expanding it's product reach.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
Apple Inc. Reveals Bigger-Screen iPhones Alongside Wearables
And there's one more thing...David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Tim Cook
It tells the time.Marcio Jose Sanchez—AP

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