Apple Park, California
Apple’s ring-shaped headquarters in Cupertino looks like something from a science fiction movie, with curved glass walls stretching nearly a mile around. The building pushed engineering so far that manufacturers had to invent entirely new machines just to make the windows.
Here’s how Apple built the ultimate tech campus, and the iPhone unveiling that made it even more iconic.
Steve Jobs Unveils Revolutionary iPhone
On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs walked onto the Macworld stage in San Francisco. Wearing his customary jeans and black turtleneck, he announced a product he had waited two and a half years to reveal.
Jobs described it as revolutionary and magical, adding that it was five years more advanced than any mobile phone in existence. The device combined three products: a phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and an internet device.
This moment launched the smartphone revolution that changed how people interact with technology forever.
The Historic Macworld Keynote
Jobs built excitement during his 2007 presentation by first listing three separate products Apple planned to launch. He defined them as a phone, an iPod, and a way to communicate with the internet before revealing that all three existed in one device.
Google scrapped their first Android phone design after seeing the iPhone announcement.
iPhone’s Launch Day Frenzy
The first iPhones went on sale June 29, 2007, six months after the announcement. Apple priced them at $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model. Both required a two-year AT&T contract.
Lines formed outside Apple and AT&T stores across the country. Many locations sold out within an hour.
Apple sold 1.4 million iPhones in 2007, with most sales happening in the last three months of the year. While impressive, Nokia still led the industry, selling 7.4 million phones in just one quarter.
The App Store Changes Everything
Apple launched the App Store in July 2008, a year after the original iPhone.
The App Store turned the iPhone from a device with fixed functions into a platform that could do almost anything. Games, productivity tools, social networks, and countless other apps flooded the new ecosystem.
By 2019, developers had earned $120 billion through the App Store, with $30 billion gained in 2018 alone. This marketplace created entirely new industries that hadn’t existed before the iPhone.
Norman Foster’s Architectural Vision
Steve Jobs chose Norman Foster to design Apple Park in 2009. The two spent a full day discussing ideas, ending with pizza at Jobs’ home.
Foster later designed the Visitor Center to match the main campus. The buildings share the same materials and focus on blending with the environment.
Jobs wanted the ‘spaceship’ building to have a circular shape so employees could work better together. The design encourages people from different departments to meet naturally throughout the day, sparking new ideas through chance encounters.
Jobs’ Environmental Legacy
Jobs wanted Apple Park to honor California’s natural beauty. In his plans, 80% of the campus would have native plants, replacing the parking lots and buildings of Hewlett Packard, the land’s previous owner.
Before he died in 2011, Jobs picked many of the 9,000 drought-resistant trees now growing at Apple Park. The campus includes fruit orchards that reflect the area’s farming history when it was known as ‘The Valley of Heart’s Delight.’
The entire campus runs on renewable energy from solar panels and fuel cells. The buildings use natural air flow instead of air conditioning most of the year.
Steve Jobs Theater
The Steve Jobs Theater sits on a hill overlooking Apple Park. Its 20-foot glass cylinder supports the world’s largest carbon-fiber roof.
This remarkable 80-ton roof consists of 44 identical panels assembled on site. Workers lifted the entire structure onto the glass cylinder in one piece.
All electrical wires and sprinkler pipes are hidden in the thin silicone joints between the glass panels. This clean design reflects Jobs’ philosophy that technology should work without showing its complexity.
Visiting Apple Park Visitor Center
You’ll find the Apple Park Visitor Center at 10600 North Tantau Avenue in Cupertino, California. The center opens Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Sundays from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Entry to the Visitor Center is free. When you arrive, explore the Exhibition area through an augmented reality experience with provided iPads. The rooftop observation deck offers views of the main Apple campus.
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