Apple CEO Tim Cook is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apple Inc being born, which was officially founded on April 1, 1976, with a nice note and dedicated page on the Apple.com site: “50 Years of Thinking Different”.
The anniversary post discusses Apple’s humble origins in a garage, to the first Apple computer, the Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and beyond, and ends with a shoutout to the “Here’s to the Crazy Ones” poem (which used to be buried on the Mac as an Easter Egg in Pages.app and the original TextEdit icon, le sigh). The full text of the note from Tim Cook has been repeated further below for posterity.
Apple uses a neat scribbled rainbow Apple logo design on the page, and designer Basic Apple Guy took that stylized Apple logo as an opportunity to create a nifty 50th anniversary wallpaper.
Click the Mac-sized thumbnail to open the full 5120 × 2880 resolution size version in your browser, or use the links further below to grab sizes from BasicAppleGuy that are suited specifically for iPhone and iPad, and also you can grab the same scribble logo imagery against a white background from his site too.
- iPhone – 50th Apple anniversary logo wallpaper
- iPad – 50th Apple anniversary logo wallpaper
- Mac – 50th Apple anniversary logo wallpaper
- Head over to BasicAppleGuy’s site to grab the white versions
I kinda wish there were an original Apple / retro Macintosh beige version as well, but the black and off-white wallpapers are nice.
CEO Tim Cook’s 50th Apple Anniversary Note
The text note from the Apple 50th anniversary celebration page is:
Fifty years ago in a small garage, a big idea was born. Apple was founded on the simple notion that technology should be personal, and that belief — radical at the time — changed everything.
April 1st marks 50 years of Apple. From the first Apple computer to the Mac, from iPod to iPhone, iPad to Apple Watch and AirPods, as well as the services we use every day — the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV — we’ve spent five decades rethinking what’s possible and putting powerful tools into people’s hands. Through every breakthrough, one idea has guided us — that the world is moved forward by people who think different.
That’s because progress always begins with someone — an inventor or scientist, a student or storyteller — who imagines a better way, a new idea, a different path. That spirit has guided Apple from the start. But it has never belonged to us alone.
Every invention we bring into the world is just the beginning of a story. The most meaningful chapters are written by all of you — the people who use our technology to work, learn, dream, and discover. You’ve made breakthroughs and launched businesses. You’ve cheered up loved ones in the hospital and captured your toddler’s first steps. You’ve run marathons, written books, and rekindled friendships. You’ve chased your curiosity, found your new favorite song, and shared stories that connect us all.
In your hands, the tools we make have improved lives, and sometimes even saved them. And that is what inspires us — not what technology can do alone, but everything you can do with it.
At Apple, we’re more focused on building tomorrow than remembering yesterday. But we couldn’t let this milestone pass without thanking the millions of people who make Apple what it is today — our incredible teams around the world, our developer community, and every customer who has joined us on this journey. Your ideas inspire our work. Your trust drives us to do better. Your stories remind us of all we can accomplish when we think different.
If you’ve taught us anything, it’s that the people crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
So here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
Here’s to you.
Tim Cook
Incredible that Apple has already been around for 50 years. What will another 50 years bring? The idea of iPhone alone was unfathomable outside of science fiction 50 years ago. Will the Mac, iPhone, and iPad even exist in 50 years, or will we have completely new and different tech, inspired by current sci-fi? Time will tell! In the meantime, enjoy the note from Tim Cook, and the great wallpapers.