In his new book Apple: The First 50 Years, author David Pogue recounts a famous anecdote about Steve Jobs and the iPod that captures the company’s relentless pursuit of small, elegant design. Pogue tells NPR that engineers presented Jobs with a prototype and declared it as small as possible. Jobs supposedly dropped it into a fish tank; when bubbles rose, he ordered it made smaller. Pogue notes the story is appealing but a myth — one of many that swirl around Apple.
Launched in 2001, the iPod marked the start of Apple’s transformation from a niche computer maker into a dominant cultural and corporate force. Over five decades the company cultivated an almost mythic image: irreverent, creative, and intent on changing the world. That identity was crystallized in the 1997 “Think Different” campaign, with grainy portraits of cultural icons and a message celebrating misfits and rebels. Tim Cook invoked that legacy in Apple’s statement marking its 50th anniversary.
Some of the lore has a basis in reality. Early Apple culture embraced a pirate-flag ethos at its first Cupertino headquarters, and products like the 1984 Macintosh did push computing into creative, personal spaces previously dominated by corporate machines. Computer History Museum curator Hansen Hsu says those early products stood for creativity and individual expression — traits Apple touted as central to its mission.
In the 21st century Apple repeatedly altered the tech landscape: the iPod redefined portable music, the iPhone remade how people communicate, and the App Store — launched in 2008 — created entirely new industries. Pogue highlights the App Store’s ripple effect: one platform gesture helped spawn services such as Uber, DoorDash, Tinder and Airbnb.
But the conveniences and creative opportunities came with consequences. Pogue points out that since streaming surged around 2015, smartphones became constant companions — camera, computer and entertainment center in one — and that the rise in screen time appears correlated with rising isolation and depression among young people. Apple has responded to concerns about device overuse; in interviews, Cook has criticized mindless scrolling and said he doesn’t want people looking at screens more than at each other.
Apple today is also a vastly different organization than its scrappy roots suggest. It is one of the world’s most profitable companies, and critics note it doesn’t always adhere to the countercultural stance it once promoted. Cook’s reported political gestures — including a personal $1 million donation tied to the Trump administration’s second inauguration — have drawn criticism and raised questions about whether Apple’s leadership still embodies the company’s revolutionary rhetoric. Cook has defended his approach as policy-focused rather than political.
Part of Apple’s resilience may be cultural. Media critic Roxana Hadadi observes that Apple rarely faces the same consumer backlash other companies do; the brand seems “Teflon” to controversies that might topple competitors. That loyalty is visible among creatives who rely on Apple hardware and software. Digital artist Kyt Janae, who uses Apple machines on projects like Rick and Morty, says she recognizes Apple as a megacorporation but feels “locked in” to the brand because of what it represents for creativity and risk-taking.
Fifty years on, Apple remains a complicated mix of mythology, design obsession, commercial power and cultural influence. Its history is full of tall tales as well as genuine innovations that reshaped industries and daily life. As the company marks this milestone, the myths endure alongside growing scrutiny about the social impacts of the technologies it helped make ubiquitous.
Jennifer Vanasco edited the audio and digital versions of this story. Chloee Weiner mixed the audio.