Hit: iMac G3 – 1998

The iMac G3 relaunched Apple and cemented Jony Ive’s design leadership at Apple. The bold and colourful all-in-one computer, built around a 15in cathode ray tube display, was Jony Ive and Steve Jobs’ baby – aimed at the low end, internet-enabled market complete with a 56Kb modem and USB. It initially came in a single ‘bondi blue’ translucent colour costing $1,299.

Miss: USB “Hockey Puck” Mouse – 1998

The iMac G3 might have been a hit, but the Apple USB Mouse, less-than-affectionately known as the ‘hockey puck’ wasn’t so much. The round shape and small size made it both cumbersome and likely to rotate, while the short cable was extremely inconvenient. It looked nice though.

Hit: iPod – 2001

While the iMac saved the company, the iPod made Apple a household name. Launched in 2001 it wasn’t the overnight success you might remember, but it was a design classic taking inspiration from the iconic Braun T3 pocket radio complete with rotating scroll wheel control. It held 1,000 tracks on its 5GB 1.8in hard drive, but didn’t have a USB. It wasn’t until 2004, four generations later, that the iPod came to dominate portable music.

Miss: Apple G4 Cube – 2000

After hitting home runs with the iMac and Power Mac G4, the Power Mac G4 Cube was a rare misstep of looks over function. It was expensive, suffered from manufacturing issues ruining the sleek acrylic exterior with lines and cracks and was canned in 2001 following poor sales. However, it has since garnered a bit of a cult following.

Hit: Apple iPod Earphones – 2001

They might have just been the earphones that came with the iPod, but Apple’s white earphones, and later the EarPods, became one of the first must-be-seen-with pieces of technology. Several successful ‘silhouette’ advertising campaigns later the white Apple earphones became icons of the modern era, seen everywhere, especially in the UK and US.

Miss: iPod Hi-Fi – 2006

Lots of products in the iPod line were successful. The iPod Hi-Fi, not so much. You slotted your iPod on to the dock connector sitting proud in the top of the large, bulky speaker, which made it vulnerable to being knocked off and damaged. It was also more expensive than competitors, only worked with third-generation iPods or newer, and it was discontinued in 2007, less than 20 months later.

Hit: iPhone – 2007

The iPod put Apple on the upward trajectory, but it is the iPhone launch of June 2007 that sent it into the stratosphere. The game-shifting introduction of the 3.5in capacitive touchscreen jabbed by fingers instead of buttons or a stylus. The first iteration didn’t even have 3G or apps, costing $499 on contract, but was arguably a design classic. With constant improvements, 21 models over 11 years and well over a billion sold, the iPhone is still Apple’s golden goose.

Miss: iPhone 5C – 2013

Not all iPhones have been mega-hits. The iPhone 5C was another rare misstep from Apple. It had the guts of 2012’s iPhone 5 in a plastic body, launching alongside the iPhone 5S as a cheaper iPhone. But buyers didn’t want a cut-down, inferior iPhone without the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, leaving Apple overstocked on the iPhone 5C and struggling to keep up with demand for the more expensive iPhone 5S.

Hit: MacBook Air – 2008

The MacBook Air was arguably Apple’s greatest laptop. Pulled from a manila envelope on stage at MacWorld by CEO Steve Jobs, it drew audible gasps from the crowd, instantly redefining how thin, light and portable a laptop could be. The first MacBook Air had a slow, tiny hard drive, slow processor and relatively poor battery life but invented a whole new category of computers called ‘ultrabooks’ by Intel.

Miss: Mac ‘Dustbin’ Pro – 2013

In one of the greatest examples of form over function, the second-generation Mac Pro was meant to reinvent the professional computer. Instead the small, bin-like shape meant upgrades were difficult and the design couldn’t cope with the heat generated by ever more powerful components, leaving users in the lurch. Admitting its mistake in 2017, Apple finally unveiled the $5,999 third-generation Mac Pro in June 2019.

Hit: Apple Watch – 2015

Apple’s first new product line since the iPad and Steve Jobs’ death, and a personal passion project for Ive, the Apple Watch quickly became the most popular smartwatch on the market outselling rivals. But it was also Apple’s first steps in wearables and health, which are increasingly important to its future. The first version was slow and overly complicated, but was quickly revised and, now on its fourth generation, the Apple Watch is a common sight in Britain and the US.

Miss: Force Touch / 3D touch – 2015

The idea was sound: press the screen harder to effectively right-click, unlocking more interaction options. The pressure-sensitive screen technology was first introduced as Force Touch on the Apple Watch and later became 3D Touch with the iPhone 6S and is used – to great effect – in Apple’s Mac trackpads. But it’s discoverability on iOS was so poor it quickly became a feature that iPhone owners didn’t know they had. If rumours of the 2019’s iPhones are to be trusted, it looks set for the scrap heap .

Hit: Taptic Engine – 2015

A little-known, but world-beating part of every Apple Watch, iPhone since the 6, and Mac trackpad since the 2015 MacBook, the Taptic Engine is the little vibrating motor that provides haptic feedback when you press things on your devices. It makes solid, unmoving buttons, such as the home button on the iPhone 7 and 8 or the trackpad on a modern Mac, feel like they move and click. It makes all the iPhone’s interactions clear and precise and is leagues ahead of the competition, which is still struggling to catch up four years later.

Miss: Butterfly Keyboard – 2015

The pursuit of thinness took a turn for the worse with the butterfly keyboard, introduced with the MacBook in 2015. Swapping traditional scissor mechanism under the keys for butterfly switches, Apple dramatically reduced the travel of the keys. But it was the propensity for dust getting under the keys and rendering them useless, which required taking the whole machine apart to fix, that relegates it to a failure. Apple hopes that its third incarnation, seen on the new MacBook Air, and fourth iterations have put the problem to bed.

Hit: AirPods – 2016

Initially derided for their design – some said they look like a set of EarPods with the cables cut off – AirPods were genuinely game-changing in the true wireless earbud space. Held and charged in a tiny white case that easily fits in your pocket, the AirPods simply worked when competitors were still struggling with the basics. Now seen all over the UK and US, they’ve become another must-be-seen-with item reminiscent of the white iPod headphones.

Miss: Magic Mouse 2 – 2017

Apple seemingly has difficulty making good mice. The hockey puck was bad. The Mighty Mouse wasn’t great either. The Magic Mouse was OK, but wasn’t exactly ergonomic. But it’s the Magic Mouse 2 that takes the modern biscuit. Who thought that putting the charging socket on the bottom, making it impossible to use while charging, was a good idea?