Image via AppleInsider
The year is 1984, IBM has a tight grasp over the personal computer market, and many think it will stay that way. But then, Apple, a fledgling company with a small but loyal group of users, introduces a new personal computer, one that seeks to dethrone Big Blue as the king of the PC, and its called the Mac. Small, well designed, and friendly looking, the original Mac didn’t look like anything else in its league, which was filled with ugly beige boxes and towers. While it wasn’t their first computer, the Mac put Apple on the map, and was there their main product line for a majority of their time as a company. The iMac, the iPod, even the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, none of these would be possible without the first Mac. But now, 35 Years after Steve Jobs walked onstage and unveiled the computer that would change the world, the purpose and the future of the Mac is as unclear as ever. A product line that used to carry the weight of the company is now relegated to a side thought. Sure, Apple has paid more attention to the Mac when it comes to pro products, but their focus on consumer computers is set on the iPad. Furthermore, having two lines of personal computers is pretty confusing for customers to navigate through, making it more difficult for users to decide between an iPad, arguably the better personal computer and the more forward thinking product, and the MacBook, the faulty keyboard adorned, weaker product of the two. To me, it seems that the future of the Mac is that of a professional device, for programmers, filmmakers, and other creative professionals, while the iPad serves the purpose of the consumer computer. This would fix Apple’s confusion problem, while giving them a strong foot in both the consumer and professional markets, allowing them to reach the widest range of customers while retaining the amazing user experience that came with the original Mac, way back in 1984.