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Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs passed away in 2011.

It has been a decade already, but that doesn’t mean that his legacy has waned.

In fact, it is very much thriving, with an Apple ‘Unleashed’ event that happened earlier this month delivering more goods to our excitable hands, ears, and eyes.

That event came off the back of the release of the iPhone 13 range, which was well received.

For more on the new iPhone range’s local pricing and availability check out Digicape, South Africa’s largest independent Apple retailer.

From the products released under Jobs’ watch through to now, we imagine that the man would be proud.

The iPhones are better, the iPads are smaller and more capable, the Apple Watches are neater, the MacBooks carry more load, and Airpods create more immersive experiences.

But that has all been heavily informed by all the products that came before.

Let’s take a walk (scroll?) down Apple’s memory lane via Macworld, recapping some of the most memorable products released during Jobs’ time:

Apple II

This old hunk is the first product that launched Apple as a major force:

The first mass-produced computer by the company in 1977, the Apple II succeeded the Apple I, which was not a success.

Steve Wozniak was the brains behind its technical implementation, but Jobs saw the importance of having a design that was approachable to everyone, not just computer nerds.

It is hard to believe now, but back in the day, the Apple II had the best features and design on the market, working so well that Apple sold it in line for more than 15 years.

Macintosh

Most people know at least a little about the making of the Mac, the more prolific Apple product, but here is a quick recap:

Apple was riding on the success of the Apple II, but it needed to work on its eventual successor. Apple had two GUI platforms in development that could follow up the Apple II: Lisa and the Macintosh.

After being forced out of the Lisa project, Jobs went to work on the Mac team. Lisa failed, and, well, if you don’t know the rest, you can figure it out.

It is fair to say that every major product Apple has released has its roots in the original Mac.

Apple, and perhaps the whole PC industry, wouldn’t be where it is today without it.

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is the most important Macintosh operating system, even though it is not the first:

Years earlier, Steve Jobs had left Apple to start a new company called NeXT. It wasn’t a mainstream success on the level of Apple, but it got people’s attention, particularly its object-oriented NeXTSTEP operating system.

So when Apple started shopping for a new OS, it was hard to ignore Jobs’ company. In 1997, Apple bought NeXT, bringing Jobs back to a leadership role and setting the foundation for the transformation of both Apple and the Mac.

When the iPhone was released, it proudly admitted to having an operating system based on OS X, which is a testament to Jobs’ genius and legacy.

iPod

Just as pop tunes were taking the world by storm in the 1990s, digital music and the MP3 player emerged.

Jobs jumped on the trend, but he did it better, introducing the first and original iPod in 2001:

A product that the company originally thought would be a nice complement to its Macs, the iPod sold in the millions and carried Apple’s growth right up until the iPhone arrived in 2007.

The iPod also had a major influence on Apple’s product development, since it was the first hub device that demonstrated tight integration between a device (iPod), software (iTunes), and an online service (iTunes Music Store).

That integration has carried current Apple products and will do so well into the future, too.

iPhone

The iPhone is Apple’s singular most groundbreaking product:

It’s not just the most important product made under Steve Jobs, it’s Apple’s most important product ever and one of the most significant tech products of all time.

Yes, the iPhone stands on the shoulders of the other products in this list, but it has created its own legacy and dramatically changed the landscape.

When we move beyond phones as our primary devices, the iPhone will still inform the future of technology, really cementing Jobs’ iconic influence on technology, business, and society at large.

In recent times, Airpods have also surged in popularity as they become fully engrained into the Apple ecosystem.

CNN writes that over the years, AirPods have emerged as a surprise status symbol and a hit for the company, outright stealing the show at the ‘Unleashed’ event.

Their minimal set-up, intuitive design, and seamless capability make them desirable for even the most stubborn techies out there.

Oh look, they’re about to hit the South African market:

You can find them when the time comes, as well as the latest prices and financing options for a range of other goodies, over at Digicape.

They also have trade-in options where you can use older Apple devices to reduce the cost of your new purchase.

Steve Jobs set the wheels in motion, and look where we are now.

[source:macworld]