20 Years of MacBook: How Apple shaped the laptops we use today

Apple has influenced everything from unibody laptop cases to high-res screens. 20 Years of MacBook: How Apple shaped the laptops we use today. Big Tech Apple 20 Years of MacBook: How Apple shaped the laptops we use today Apple has influenced everything from unibody laptop cases to high-res screens.

Five years after the debut of the original Macintosh desktop in 1984, Apple launched the disastrously expensive, 16-pound Macintosh Portable. But out of the ashes came the PowerBook 100 in 1991, followed by the more refined PowerBook 500 and PowerBook G3 in 1994. Apple finally struck mainstream consumer gold with the colorful iBook G3 in 1999.

With a small handle and an adorably rounded case, what more could you want. It wasn’t exactly fast, but it was a clear sign that Apple was aiming to make computers that appeal to the masses. I can remember the exact moment I first fell in love with an Apple laptop.

Apple introduced the Touch Bar 10 years ago today. At its "Hello again" event on October 27, 2016, Apple pitched the OLED Multi-Touch strip as "revolutionary." It replaced the MacBook Pro’s function keys and divided users from the start, arriving in the same controversial redesign as the butterfly keyboard and removal of HDMI, SD card, and MagSafe ports.

The Touch Bar died slowly. A physical Esc key returned to the 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2019, then high-end models dropped it in 2021, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro – the last Touch Bar machine – was discontinued in October 2023.

No Mac has brought it back since, though in a subtle quirk of history, Apple should unveil its first touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro tomorrow. Related Roundup: MacBook Pro Tag: Touch Bar Buyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Caution) Related Forum: MacBook Pro This article, " Apple’s MacBook Pro Touch Bar Was Announced 10 Years Ago Today " first appeared on com Discuss this article in our forums.

Apple’s MacBook Pro Touch Bar Was Announced 10 Years Ago Today.

It was right as I was entering college in 2001: I came in with a desktop I built myself, but I couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous PowerBook G4 several classmates had.