Famous five: Some of Apple’s iconic launches

Apple usually announces a slew of new products at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off today in California, US. The interest in this five-day event is quite high as this is when Apple usually announces a slew of new products. However, at the WWDC 2015, there will be no new iPhone or MacBook—the next iPhone will be announced later in the year, and the MacBook range was refreshed a few weeks back. This year, the conference will focus on iOS and Mac operating system (OS) X updates, Apple Watch ecosystem and services such as CarPlay, transaction service Pay and HomeKit.

We take a look at some of the iconic Apple products and software over the years, which have changed the way consumers use certain gadgets.

iPhone 3GS

Released in 2009, the iPhone 3GS was a major landmark not only for Apple but the entire mobile community. While the first iPhone showed the way, the 3GS actually made touch-screen phones mainstream around the world. And we have heard that famous tale of how Nokia binned a touch-screen phone concept a few years before the iPhone exploded on the scene.

iPod Classic

At the turn of the new millennium in 2001, Apple came up with a product that changed the way users listened to music, with the slogan “1,000 songs in your pocket”. The walkman pretty much walked into the sunset, without even a whimper or protest. The iPod Classic supported many more file formats and allowed users to download new music from the iTunes store.

iPad

Launched in 2010, the iPad became an aspirational device almost instantly. For some users, it worked well as a laptop replacement, but majority of the users actually loved it for the immersive reading experience. At 13mm and 680g, the iPad was sleeker and lighter than any laptop. The design was top-notch—silver finish and metal exterior was rarely used in laptops at that time.

Macbook Pro Retina display

The Macbook Pro itself was a formidable notebook for many years. But Apple really upped the game in 2012 by adding a much higher resolution (2,560x1,600 pixels) “Retina” 13.3-inch display. And that wasn’t all—the Retina MacBook was 25% thinner than the standard Macbook Pro, and offered improved battery life.

iOS7

The iPhone OS was refreshed many times before iOS7, which was released in 2013, but the interface remained pretty much the same. However, iOS 7 revamped the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad OS, with interactive notifications, more colour in on-screen elements, easy multitasking, a new keyboard and other utility improvements.