'50 years of thinking different': Apple announces major anniversary celebrations, and there's one thing I want to see

Here's how Apple will celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary

12 Mar 2026, 17:20 · TechRadar

News By Lance Ulanoff published 12 March 2026

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Tim Cook pens a letter celebrating Apple's 50th anniversary
Apple has announced plans to celebrate
There are scant details so far

Apple is ready to celebrate 50 years of innovation. The company has been tight-lipped about how it will mark this half-century milestone, but now it and longtime CEO Tim Cook are opening up just a bit about the plans, how Apple views the last 50 years, and what comes next.

"Apple was founded on the simple notion that technology should be personal, and that belief — radical at the time — changed everything," wrote Cook in a letter posted on Apple.com to mark the occasion (the official date is April 1).

In the letter, Cook credits Apple's customers with defining the story of Apple: "In your hands, the tools we make have improved lives, and sometimes even saved them. And that is what inspires us — not what technology can do alone, but everything you can do with it."

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While Cook and Apple often hesitate to look back, the company finally revealed in a press release a skeletal plan for celebrating 50 years of Apple:

"In the coming weeks, Apple and its global community will celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, recognizing the creativity, innovation, and impact that people around the world have made possible with Apple technology."

What that means, though, is open to interpretation. Surely Apple will have some in-store decorations and displays celebrating the history. I've asked Apple, though, if Cook will host an Apple Park event for employees. I'll update this post if I hear back.

Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak with an early circuit board. (Apple) (Image credit: Apple)

Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple has produced some of the most important tech products of the information age. From the game-changing Macintosh to the music-carrying iPod, and then the only mobile phone ever casually described as the "Jesus Phone", which became the iPhone. While of lesser impact, the iPad has had the longevity and arguably the impact of other Apple products.

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