Apple's greatest innovations: No.1 company in the world...

1) iPod

Although Apple's personal music player, launched in 2001, was by no means the first MP3 player, it's the one that had the most impact. The first model could only store around 1,000 songs, but the idea of being able to create playlists and shuffle through tracks felt revolutionary. The iPod arguably kick-started the digital music revolution. Later models of the device added photo- and video-viewing capabilities, while the iPod touch offers the complete multimedia experience, even allowing users to download applications and games on to their touch.

2) Graphical User Interface

Apple built on the pioneering work of the team at Xerox Parc to produce the first commercially successful computer to use a graphical user interface -- the Macintosh. Launched in 1984 with Ridley Scott's famous advertising campaign, the Macintosh swept aside an era of command prompts and strings of code, and instead ushered in a new dawn of accessible computing. It used a "desktop" metaphor to guide users around the computer, with documents represented as sheets of paper, and with it, helped shift computers away from scientists in the research lab in to the homes of 'normal' people.

3) iMac

The iMac, which first appeared in 1998, marked Apple's resurgence as a major tech player. Under the guidance of chief designer Jony Ive, Apple ripped up the computer design rule book, doing away with dull beige boxes and instead replacing them with fun, translucent machines in shades such as "Bondi Blue" that hinted at the aesthetic Apple would become so well-known for.

4) iTunes

On the face of it, Apple's music software is simply a way to organise songs and playlists, and download tracks. In truth, it's a Trojan horse for Apple's entire product line. For many PC users, iTunes was their first contact with anything Apple made, and the ease of use and efficiency of the software, plus its seamless integration with the iPod, provided a satisfying user experience for many -- this "halo effect" even prompted some users to switch to Mac computers. And iTunes has played a huge role in the digitisation of the music industry -- its dominant market position, and its decision to sell songs as single tracks as well as complete albums has been blamed for killing off the traditional album release. Record labels have been forced to adapt to an agenda set by Apple, rather than by themselves.

5) Mac OS X

While Microsoft continues to sell more computers than Apple, critics have regularly argued that its Windows operating system lacks the innovation and features that characterises Apple's desktop software. Apple's OS X operating system, which debuted in 2001, remains at the cutting edge of computing. Praised for its elegance, ease of use and simple interface, features such as Cover Flow-style Finder, Spotlight search function, iChat instant-messaging and video conferencing software and suite of productivity tools have won praise from users and critics alike.

6) iPhone

This was the gadget Apple fans had been waiting for -- the touch-screen "Jesus phone" that combines an internet browser with a music and video player, as well as the ability to make and receive phone calls. Launched in 2007, the iPhone -- with its two megapixel camera and inability to cut and paste text -- was in many ways less fully featured than other mobile phones available at the time, and yet it grabbed the headlines. This was due, in no small part, to the good looks and ease of use of the iPhone, and because the handset packed such obvious untapped potential -- potential that started to be realised last year with the launch of the App Store, and with it, the ability for iPhone users to easily add extra software, games and applications to their handset. The App Store now houses more than 1.4 million apps, with the total number of downloads surpassing 50 billion.

7) Newton

Before the iPhone was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye came the Newton, a touch-screen personal digital assistant. Commercially, the Newton was a damp squib, but it is still fondly remembered by long-time Apple users for its neat interface and handwriting recognition. The Newton may be resurrected, in spirit if not in name, with the possible future launch of an "iTablet" -- the mythical touch-screen tablet computer that Apple is rumoured to be working on.

8) Apple II

The Apple II, built between 1977 and 1993, was one of Apple's most popular personal computers and was widely used in US schools, as well as being one of the first computers to find a place in people's homes. It introduced the world to VisiCalc, a pioneering spreadhsheet program, and the long lifecycle of this machine underlines the esteem and affection in which it was held.

9) Keynotes

Apple has turned the product launch in to an art form. Steve Jobs' attention to detail ahead of keynote speeches and product unveilings was legendary -- every aspect of the presentation is rehearsed and rehearsed to ensure all participants were pitch-perfect. Jobs was the master of suspense, saving his biggest announcements until the very end of a press conference, regularly bringing the audience of Apple devotees to their feet. One of the Apple chief executive's most famous catchphrases was "One more thing..." -- a signal he was about to take the wraps off of something very special indeed. In the wake of Jobs' death in 2011, current chief executive Tim Cook has inherited the fondly-remembered phrase.

10) MacBook Air

When Jobs pulled the super-thin MacBook Air from a manila envelope, tech experts and consumers alike were left salivating at the prospect of an ultra-light, ultra-portable and fully-featured laptop with a full-size keyboard. The Air was the world's thinnest laptop, a mere 1.94cm thick at its widest point. It ran the Mac OS X operating system, was easy to type on, and beautifully designed. At more than £1,000, though, it wasn't in the same class as cheap netbooks such as the Asus Eee PC, but it arguably prompted other manufacturers, such as Samsung and Dell, to bring out rival devices. Mobile workers everywhere rejoiced.

11) iPad

Revealed in January 2010, the iPad built on the early foundations of the Newton platform's MessagePad. The tablet, according to Jobs at the time, "creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before”. The critical reception was mixed, but the first generation model went on to sell more than two million units within two months of sale. As of January 2015, Apple had sold more than 258 million iPads.

12) Apple Watch

The Apple Watch, finally unveiled after years of speculation that Apple was working on a wearable, was launched in September 2014. The company's first original product since 2010's iPad, it will come in three versions - standard Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and the luxury Apple Watch Edition, and will go on sale in April 2015.

SOURCE:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/picture-galleries/6099399/Top-10-Apple-innovations.html?image=12