The 20th Anniversary Of The Computer That Saved Apple

How one machine continues to change the way we think about computers

- Alex Blake

The iMac has been around for 20 years. Just let that sink in for a moment. Since its debut in August 1998, Apple has launched 59 separate laptop models, 15 iPads and 18 iPhones. In fact, the iMac was already almost 10 years old when the original iPhone was launched. The product that saved Apple has seen a lot in its time.

This is the story of one of Apple’s most important products, a computer that not only brought Apple back from the brink of destruction, but propelled it to the cutting edge of cool, and coffers full of cash. We’ll trace its journey, from its fascinating beginnings to its world beating status quo. It’s a tale of inspiration and failures, fame and vitriol, jelly beans and sunflowers. It forged lifelong partnerships, took on giants and prompted a wave of imitators. And it continues to drive innovation and amaze the world today.

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the company was in a very bad way. A far cry from its antiestablishment origins in the 1970s, it was churning out a confusing array of boring beige boxes that looked no different from the PC competition. Worse, it was losing money hand over fist, with most analysts predicting its impending doom. The June 1997 issue of Wired magazine nicely summed up the mood, with a cover featuring the Apple logo wearing a crown of thorns. Below it ran a single word: Pray.

Steve Jobs knew he had a gargantuan task ahead of him when he returned to Apple, and he wasted no time slashing extraneous projects and products. From now on, he declared, Apple would have just four product categories, and no more: consumer and professional desktops and notebooks.