Apple marks its 40th anniversary with the reputation of having reshaped modern life

Apple celebrates its 40th anniversary this week at the top of its game, as the Silicon Valley legend that sprang out of Steve Jobs’ garage to reshape modern life with its trend-setting gadgets.

Jobs, the late tech-savvy marketing genius, and Steve Wozniak, who invented the Apple computer, helped revolutionise how people use technology, and formed what would become the world’s largest corporation with an eye-popping $53 billion in annual profits.

The two college drop-outs created the company that has changed the way people use computers, listen to music, communicate on the go, and made people at home in a world of “apps” tailored for work, play, education, health and more.

Apple’s hit products – the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad – command a cult-like following, long after the company’s humble beginning in Jobs’ Cupertino, California garage on April 1, 1976.

“Apple has defined modern Internet lifestyle,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Silicon Valley analyst firm Creative Strategies.

While other firms had major impacts on specific technologies or devices, “Apple had the greatest influence on the broadest range of consumer electronics,” Bajarin said.