The Apple-1
It didn’t sell massively, but 1976’s Apple-1 was the first modern personal computer. Before the Apple-1, computers were sold in kit form, and used switches and lights instead of keyboards and monitors. You still had to supply some of the Apple-1's components yourself, but as Apple promised, “initial set-up is essentially ‘hassle-free’ and you can be running within minutes.” It initially cost $666.66, "including 4K bytes RAM!," but in 2012, Sotheby’s sold one for $374,500.

iMac
The original iMac was significant for three main reasons: It was the first legacy-free PC, killing off the floppy disk and betting on USB instead of expansion cards. It was designed as an Internet-focused computer, with Apple describing it as "the ultimate Internet appliance." And its bright, translucent plastics and swooping curves "inspired" not just other computer manufacturers, but makers of grilling machines, game consoles, steam irons, and many other consumer products.

iPhone
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007, it was so different from other devices that he had to explain what it was. “An iPod. A phone. An Internet communicator. This is one device, and we are calling it iPhone.” It turned out to be very popular and hugely influential: before the iPhone, smartphones either looked like BlackBerries or were weird things from Nokia. It changed the industry and the way we go online, and made Apple the world’s richest technology company.

iPod & iTunes
The iPod made digital music mainstream. The original 2001 iPod didn’t have the impressive specs of the Creative Nomad MP3 player—but the Creative Nomad didn’t have the iPod’s stunning looks and ease of use. It also didn’t have Apple’s clever marketing. iTunes made it easy to transfer music you’d ripped or downloaded to your iPod, but it wasn't until iTunes 4 that we got the iTunes Store, which made it easy to buy music and turned Apple into a media giant.

GUI
Graphical user interface, or GUI, was a huge leap forward: instead of trying to remember commands and their syntax, you could control your computer by pointing, clicking, and moving things around with a mouse. Apple didn’t invent the idea, but it was the first company to ship a commercial GUI-based computer, the 1983 Lisa. Apple’s GUI was refined for the Macintosh, enabling such creations as PageMaker and Photoshop, apps that would go on to transform publishing.

iPad
It’s impossible to overstate how important the iPad was, and is. Before iPad, if you wanted to do something on a computer, you needed to learn to use the computer first. With the iPad, you just do what you want to do. Play piano? IPad’s a piano. Read a book? It’s a book. Fling exploding birds? It’s a catapult. The iPad created a new category of computer, and analysts agree that sales of tablets will soon outpace sales of laptops, changing the whole personal computing landscape.

Stevenotes
Steve Jobs’s keynote speeches were legendary, and they’ve been widely imitated—with good reason, because Jobs was an extraordinary and disciplined showman. He focused on the details, refining and simplifying and using positive language, real-world scenarios, humor, and passion to get the message across—and then he’d rehearse until it was effortless. If you see a CEO deliver a three-act presentation with a big reveal at the end, you’re watching someone who’s watched Jobs.

The App Store
The iPhone launched without apps, but that decision was quickly reversed. IOS and its App Store use the same closed-ecosystem model as the iPod and iTunes, and like that ecosystem, it's been copied by everyone. Apple’s approvals process can seem heavy-handed, but it's kept malware and scams away. The combination of safe apps and low prices encourages people to buy more software, and Apple’s helped drive that by pricing its own apps at exceptionally low prices.

AirPort
When Steve Jobs showed off the new iBook in 1999, he started web browsing, picked up the computer, took it for a walk, and then passed it through a hoop. The audience cheered. Apple didn’t invent Wi-Fi, but it worked with Lucent to give the nascent IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence WLAN technology a new name. The result was AirPort. Before AirPort, wireless networking was too expensive for the home. Now you could do it for $299—and because it was Apple, it just worked.

iOS 6
iOS 6’s Maps app changed the world, but not in the way Apple expected: Apple’s replacement for Google Maps came with a lovely interface, turn-by-turn navigation, and maps of a strange, not-quite-Earth planet where familiar landmarks morphed into surreal shapes, long-dead retailers sprang back into existence, and some places became a confusing mess. By literally changing the world (or at least its version of same), Maps’ errors made it a laughingstock.