As consumers, we all have preferences for our electronics. The age old debate is Apple vs. Android.

We all have where we stand on the "issue." Personally, I like Apple because of iMessage. It's easy to talk to my friends over it, since the majority of them have Apple. One of my best friends likes Apple due to its easy interface and the easier access to applications.

With the success of Apple, the real question is "why is it so popular?"

Why is it that Apple is so innovative? Are they really as innovative as we seem to think?

Apple released the Apple Computer in 1976 and has been incorporated since 1977. As consumers, we didn't really see Apple until 2001 when they released the first iPod. Since then, Apple has been the innovator of technology, right?

Not exactly.

Although they have a giant market following, they haven't really innovated any new products. Each of their individual products has been a spin-off of competitor's products.

That role isn't necessarily bad, but it's something that needs to be addressed.

Apple Computer

In 2017, more than half of the population owns a Mac. Whether it is an iMac, Macbook or Macbook Air, an Apple computer is in their possession.

The movement to have a personal computer started in the 1970's when computers were becoming more and more user friendly. Before, they were just used by big corporations and the government.

IBM released the first personal computer in 1981. This computer weighed about 50 pounds, and was the size of a portable typewriter.

Not too long after the release of the IBM PC, Apple released their first personal computer.

The Apple II was an upgrade from the previous Apple I, but that computer wasn't available to the public. Apple fixed things that IBM didn't do correctly. This trend was just the beginning of Apple following in the footsteps of the electronic world.

Music Players

In 1992, the MiniDisc, made by Sony, made it's way into the market.

The MiniDisc held only 1 GB of audio, but it was the first of its kind. Although the initial sale flopped, Sony re-released the MiniDisc in 1998. With this new version, you could get two types of disks: prerecorded or blank, but recordable disks.

With these, you can choose which songs to listen to on the daily, and they didn't even have to be from the same artist.

In 2001, Steve Jobs released the first generation iPod. Without the iTunes store in play yet, users had to download songs from previously owned CDs. It debuted at a 5GB capacity, 4 more GB than it's competitor.

Although Apple wasn't huge yet, this was the stepping stone of their powerhouse fame.

Smartphones

IBM was at the front of the trend, again. In 1992, they released the IBM Simon, which was the first touchscreen phone.

With the Simon, consumers had access to their emails, they could fax, and you could use it to call!

This was a big selling point. Simon had predictive typing, or what we might refer to as "that dreaded auto correct."

In 2007, Apple released the first iPhone. The phone that changed the game.

As much as I love Apple and their products, it's important to realize they didn't introduce these awesome ideas. They made them better and more user friendly.

A LAs their new iPhone X is rolled out, just remember that Apple could be following in someone's footsteps again, or maybe this time they did create something new.