Your Guide to the Convention That’s Changed the Face of Technology: The MacWorld Convention

 The first MacWorld convention was held in 1985, back before computers were a household appliance and cell phones were more of a luxury rather than the necessity they are today. Being that Silicon Valley is just a short drive south, it made sense that San Francisco would be the first city to host this three to four day event during which technological masterminds of Apple got together to compare notes, brainstorm ideas and, more importantly, reveal their latest inventions.

Today the event has been renamed the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference and changed locations to San Jose, but it still showcases the technological innovations that continue to influence everyday life, as it did from the start.

A Brief History of the Meeting of the Masterminds

As mentioned, the MacWorld Convention goes as far back as 1985. While some noteworthy products were released in those early years — ImageWriter LQ, AppleShare PC, AppleFax and Power Macintosh — the real fun began in 1997, upon the reintroduction of Steve Jobs into Apple.

You may already know that Steve Jobs was released from his position at Apple in 1985, when Jobs and John Scully, the man he recruited from Pepsi-Cola to be his chief executive, underwent a power struggle that ultimately lead to Apple’s board siding with the CEO. Jobs, feeling hurt, betrayed and, most of all, angry, went on to create two other successful brands: NeXT and Pixar. As Apple began to struggle and lose billions in sales year after year, NeXT and Pixar flourished. In 1996, Apple acquired NeXT and Jobs along with it. At the 1997 MacWorld Convention, Jobs took to the stage to discuss the new direction in which Apple was headed and to introduce the new board of directors, which included himself.

After that exciting event, Jobs spoke at almost every meeting and introduced a new product or three. From the G3 Chip to Safari, and from the iMac G4 to the legendary iPhone, Jobs and company revealed it all at the MacWorld Convention.

Top 5 Products That Came Out of the Convention

Apple did not just change the face of technology — it changed the modern-day way of living. Thanks to the tech giant, consumers do not just want but expect to be able to access everything from question answers to music to photos at their fingertips. If a device isn’t capable of taking pictures, playing music, providing directions and giving attitude, it’s considered archaic. This is, for the most part, thanks to Jobs and team.

When Apple revealed a product, it didn’t reveal just a product — it revealed a newer, better and more convenient way of doing things. Case in point: these are, arguably, the five most life-changing products to ever be revealed at the MacWorld Convention: 

1. iTunes: At the 2001 convention, Jobs announced iTunes, “the world’s best and easiest to use jukebox software.” This revolutionary software allowed users to import their music from all external hard drives, including CDs, and manage them from a single location. From there they could compress them into MP3 format for listening on the go or burn their own CDs with all of their favorite songs from various artists. Though the iPod was not released at the convention, it was unveiled later that year. 

2. Safari: At the 2003 MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, Apple revealed Safari, a web browser that could load pages over three times faster than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Back then, Safari was innovative in a number of ways. For one, Google search capabilities were integrated directly into the search bar. It allowed for “SnapBack,” which refers to navigating back one or more webpages to find a recent search result. Safari also provided users a way to organize, name and present bookmarks, as well as to block pop-up ads. While each of these functions may seem commonplace now, they were revolutionary back in 2003 and completely changed peoples’ expectations for web browsing software. 

3. iPhone: In 2007, Apple decided to integrate most of its successful earlier innovations into a single device through which people could also communicate. You know this device as the iPhone. With internet capabilities, touchscreen display and music player, the iPhone proved to be much more than a cellphone — it proved to be the trigger of the smartphone revolution. Today, the iPhone model is still going strong, with Apple now on its eighth generation of the device. At the same conference, Jobs also spoke briefly about Apple TV, which he wrote off at the time as being “hobby.” 

4. MacBook Air: By 2009, Apple had launched several generations of laptops, including the iMac G4 in 2002, which set the stage for the company’s later-to-come products. For its last MacWorld demonstration, Apple had Jobs reveal the MacBook Air, which he did by pulling it from a manila folder. He called it “the world’s thinnest notebook.” At the time, the Air didn’t make quite as impressive an impact as the company would have liked, but 10 years later, the market is flooded with slim laptops. While Apple has since focused on developing even thinner, faster and more durable products, it cannot be denied that the Air is thought to have changed the trajectory of mobile computing. For some, the computer was little more than an overpriced laptop; for many, however, it was a representation of what computing could be, which is why it continues to be a fan favorite today. 

5. Apple Watch: In 2015, the WWDC introduced a more advanced OS for the newly released Apple Watch. This handy device allowed people easier access to their cell phone technology, with time, calendars, texts and more right on their wrist, promoting a whole new arena of apps.

The MacWorld Convention gave rise to a lot of exceptional products, many of which consumers continue to use today. While all innovation should certainly be applauded, very few products have changed the way we live. As it happens, many that have had the most significant impact have been produced by Apple. Get your life-changing products such as the Apple Watch, iPhone, Apple TV and more from your local cell phone carrier.