In less than half a month, Apple will celebrate its 50th birthday. Tim Cook has also published a short piece paying tribute to the journey of the past half-century. However, because of Apple’s image as a constant trendsetter, many people don’t realize that it is now a veritable elder statesman in the IT industry. Among the tech giants of its age, very few remain at the top-tier table today.
As a tech enthusiast who is only one year older than Apple, from the Apple II to today’s iPhone and MacBook, Apple’s products have accompanied me through most of my life. Strictly speaking, I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore Apple fan—I don’t feel regret if I don’t buy a new product on day one, I rarely stay up late to watch keynotes anymore, and I’m even less familiar with the exact specs of their newest devices. But looking back, at every major milestone in my life, I have naturally chosen Apple products, and in recent years, I have become a part of the Apple developer ecosystem.
To be honest, I haven’t entirely figured out where Apple’s enduring appeal to me comes from. Is it because I started using its products so early on? Is it its innovation, user experience, and overall vibe? Or is it Steve Jobs’ charisma? Truth be told, my choice today is driven purely by habit and instinct, much like the unspoken understanding between old friends—it simply no longer requires any specific reason.
Of course, Apple’s path of growth hasn’t always been smooth sailing; there have been valleys along the way. But one thing must be acknowledged: its corporate positioning over the past 50 years has remained almost completely unchanged—to create powerful tools for individuals and society. Even in the latest wave of AI, where Apple seems to have lost the first-mover advantage, as the core player connecting people to the digital world in that “last centimeter,” it still holds the capital to remain at the center of the table in the AI era. After all, we live in a physical world, and we need tangible hardware and personalized services to truly enjoy the fruits of technological progress.
Apple at 50 might offer an inspiration to other companies: rather than imitating its “cool” and “innovative” exterior, it is better to learn from its focus and persistence. Becoming a long-term companion to its users is perhaps the true secret to its success.
In all likelihood, ten years from now, when Apple turns 60 and I turn 61, I will still be using a Mac.
Happy Birthday, Apple!
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Why I’m Still Thinking About Core Data in 2026
By 2026, Core Data has been around for 21 years. While many developers still use it, in modern Swift projects it increasingly feels like a relic of an earlier era. Concurrency still relies on layers of perform calls, model declarations are filled with boilerplate, and string-based predicates are always ready to trip you up. This article is not a defense of Core Data, nor an attempt to persuade new developers to adopt it. Instead, it’s more of a problem inventory: why do some developers still choose to stick with Core Data in 2026, and if we continue using it, what are the real issues we need to address today?
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