Apple introduced the Macintosh computer in 1984 and later became one of the world’s highest-valued public companies.
The Macintosh was announced by Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984. Its graphical user interface and mouse-based navigation helped distinguish it from many business computers that relied heavily on typed commands. The launch followed Apple’s earlier Apple II success and established the company as a major personal-computing brand.
Apple’s business later expanded into portable music players, smartphones, tablets, services, and wearable devices. The iPhone, introduced in 2007, became the company’s most important product line. Apple is sometimes confused with the record label Apple Corps, which was founded by the Beatles; the two companies had a long-running trademark dispute. Apple’s market value has repeatedly placed it among the world’s largest listed companies.