An incredible archive of every Apple.com homepage since 1997 has been doing the rounds. The collection is nothing new, but in light of Apple’s most recent homepage campaign regarding sustainability, it’s an interesting – and at times hilarious – look into the former days of the tech giant. What a difference 18 years make.
It’s fair to say that Apple – like the rest of world – have improved their web design skills over the last couple of decades. Impressively though, they seem to have stuck to their core design values with most of these splash screens.
Scrolling through in chronological order reads like a potted history of the company’s journey from modest tech manufacturer to the most valuable company in the world. Here are just a few notable highlights.
1997: Such.. low.. resolution..
1998: Who remembers the Apple eMate and MessagePad? Don’t lie..
1999: Remember when Macs were colorful? And HAL 9000 was on the homepage for some reason?
2001: Arguably the most important event in Apple history – the launch of the iPod.
2003: Back when iTunes for Windows was a pretty big deal.
2006: “I’m a Mac”. Who could forget the ad campaign that made Mac users cool?
2007: The first iPhone release. Still going strong today.
2010: Who would have guessed the iPad would actually catch on? Apart from Apple, of course.
2011: Since this Steve Jobs memorial was posted, Apple have also commemorated the deaths of Nelson Mandela and Robin Williams on their homepage.
2014: Crisper, cleaner, but in essence not at all dissimilar from the iPod’s launch page in 2001.
The full archive is well worth a look: check it out here.