12 most significant moments of the Apple 2014

This past year was truly eventful for the company Apple. Like it or not, you can not fail to recognize that now is one of the most influential companies in the world. This year kupertinovtsy introduced an entirely new category of products, sold a record number of iPhone and made the largest acquisition in the company's history.

stock split

In April, Apple announced a stock split at a ratio of one to seven, after which the company's market capitalization increased by 23%. Also kupertinovtsy expanded share repurchase program to $ 30 billion, and a total invested in it for as much as $ 90 billion. And dividends have increased by 8%, which, of course, were happy all the investors of the company.

The acquisition of Beats

Such a big deal of Apple shocked many. After several weeks of discussion kupertinovtsy purchased Beats for $ 3 billion. Then Dr. Dre He became the highest-paid musician in history. In addition, together with the new company Apple acquired Jimmy Ayovina, This music industry guru and former friend of Steve Jobs.

iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite

In June, at the annual conference WWDC introduced new operating system iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Thanks to the fruitful cooperation Johnny Ive and Craig Federighi were able kupertinovtsy possible to reconcile the two systems. Yosemite became incredibly similar to the flat iOS, and under the auspices of Continuity and Handoff we are now able to receive calls and messages not only on the iPhone, but also iPad and Mac.

Partnership with IBM

In the early years of its formation, Apple and IBM They were truly fierce rivals. But now it's completely different companies that specialize in different market sectors. IBM provides corporate services and technical support, and Apple's, mainly manufactures consumer electronics. Therefore, the partnership between the two giants was inevitable. Apple will develop applications and IBM to install them and provide technical support, so the big corporations would be incredibly difficult to refuse such a tempting offer.

Hacking iCloud and intimate photos of celebrities

The ointment should be a fly in the ointment. Apple has been embroiled in a scandal. In September, after a break of several accounts iCloud, leaked to the network intimate photos of celebrities. First, representatives of the company did not comment on the situation, and then stated that this leak is not the fault Apple. Only strongly advised to use two-factor authenticationThat no one had any such unpleasant situations in the future.

New iPhone and Bendgeyt

New iPhone 6 It became even more - 4.7 and 5.5 inches. However, some users complained that the new smartphones are too thin and easy to bend in the pocket. The network immediately captivated different videos showing how the fingers can bend the new iPhone. Apple hurried to refute such statements, and to the same percentage of complaining was so low, that there were no scandal, as in the situation with Antennageyt.

Apple Watch

This year we finally presented Apple's smart watch. They were not called iWatch, as expected, but just Watch. The exact characteristics of the device, as well as the date of its release, is still unknown. But now we already know for sure that will come a huge number of hoursMade of different materials with various straps. At the beginning of next year you can buy casual, sporty or luxury model, made of gold. The price of Apple Watch will start at $ 349.

Apple Pay

This year, Apple released and their payment systemWhose appearance has long been predicted by analysts. In stores payments will be carried out with our secure Touch ID system. So far, Apple has signed contracts with only a very limited number of partners, but next year they will be much more accurate. As for our country, the emergence of Apple Pay should not be expected in the coming years.

Free U2 album

One of the biggest mistakes was loading free U2 album all iTunes users. They did not appreciate such an unselfish impulse Apple's, perhaps because they are not relished group U2. Many users even asked delete an album from the download list, so that the largest release ended real failure.

iMac Retina

A series of products with Retina display continued iMac. Now, Apple's desktop has a screen with a truly huge 5K resolution, which has 14.7 million pixels. For comparison, the resolution of 4K screen only 8.8 million pixels.

"I am proud that I am gay"

After Tim Cook led the procession of gay men in San Francisco, almost no one doubted his orientation. But Apple CEO did not stop there, and frankly told in an interview that he is proud that is gay. Relatively recently, he even donated $ 8.5 million to one of the LGBT community who are struggling with various kinds of discrimination in the workplace.

Strange removal from the App Store

With the sudden removal of the application from the App Store altogether separate and complicated story. In particular, kupertinovtsy touting themselves PCalc and Transmit applications for the use of the new features iOS 8, and then remove them from the App Store, referring to some violations. Whether the team, considering and promoting applications do not work together, whether there is a kind of war of opinions. We, mere mortals, yet not to know about it. In any case, Apple should not be so upset third-party developers working for the benefit of the company itself.