Apple Quiz
From a 1976 garage to the first trillion dollar company: 15 questions on Apple's founders and launches.
In which year was Apple founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
1976
Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, in Los Altos, California, and was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January 1977. Its first product, the Apple I, was hand-built by Wozniak that same year.
Apple's founding partnership agreement, signed by all three founders, sold at a Christie's auction in January 2026 for about $2 million.
Which Apple computer was launched in January 1984 with a famous Super Bowl commercial?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Macintosh
The original Macintosh went on sale on January 24, 1984, two days after Apple's 1984 commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, aired during the Super Bowl. It was the first mass-market computer with a graphical interface and mouse.
The 1984 ad was shown nationally only once, yet it is still regularly voted one of the greatest television commercials ever made.
Which Apple device, launched in October 2001, was promoted with the slogan "1,000 songs in your pocket"?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
iPod
The first iPod shipped with a 5 GB hard drive that held about 1,000 songs, a scroll wheel and a $399 price tag. It turned Apple into a consumer electronics company and paved the way for the iTunes Store in 2003.
Apple sold more than 400 million iPods before quietly discontinuing the last model, the iPod touch, in May 2022.
Who became Apple's chief executive in August 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Tim Cook
Tim Cook, Apple's long-serving operations chief, was named CEO on August 24, 2011, when Jobs resigned because of ill health. Jobs died six weeks later, on October 5, 2011.
Under Cook, Apple launched the Apple Watch, AirPods and its own M-series chips, and became the first US company valued at $1 trillion and then $3 trillion.
Which computer, hand-built by Steve Wozniak and sold for $666.66 in 1976, was the company's first product?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Apple I
The Apple I was a bare circuit board that buyers had to supply with their own case, keyboard and display. Around 200 were made, and the Byte Shop in Mountain View ordered the first 50.
Working Apple I boards are now prized collectibles, with several examples selling at auction for more than $400,000.
Which colour was the original iMac that Steve Jobs unveiled in 1998?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bondi Blue
The first iMac G3, revealed on May 6, 1998, came in a translucent blue-green that Apple named Bondi Blue after the Sydney beach. It was the first major product of the Jobs and Jony Ive partnership and revived Apple's fortunes.
In 1999 Apple added five fruit colours, Blueberry, Grape, Tangerine, Lime and Strawberry, turning the iMac into a fashion object as much as a computer.
Which company did Apple buy in 1996 for around $400 million, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
NeXT
Apple announced the purchase of NeXT, the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple, in December 1996. Its NeXTSTEP operating system became the foundation of Mac OS X, and Jobs was running Apple again within a year.
Apple seriously considered buying Be Inc. and its BeOS instead, but founder Jean-Louis Gassée reportedly asked for too high a price.
In which year did Steve Jobs leave Apple after a boardroom power struggle with John Sculley?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
1985
Jobs lost a showdown with CEO John Sculley, the former Pepsi executive he had recruited, and resigned in September 1985. He founded NeXT the same year and did not return to Apple until 1997.
Jobs had famously lured Sculley to Apple in 1983 by asking whether he wanted to sell sugared water for the rest of his life or change the world.
Which 1983 Apple computer shared its name with Steve Jobs's daughter?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lisa
The Lisa launched in January 1983 at $9,995 and was the first personal computer sold with a graphical interface. Apple officially claimed the name stood for Locally Integrated Software Architecture, but Jobs later admitted it was named for his daughter Lisa.
Lisa developers privately joked that the acronym really stood for Lisa: Invented Stupid Acronym, according to engineer Andy Hertzfeld.
Which word did Apple drop from its corporate name in January 2007?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Computer
On January 9, 2007, the same Macworld keynote at which he unveiled the iPhone, Steve Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would become simply Apple Inc. to reflect its shift into consumer electronics.
The same keynote introduced Apple TV, which had been teased months earlier under the codename iTV.
Ronald Wayne sold his 10 percent stake in Apple back to Jobs and Wozniak in 1976 for how much?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
$800
Wayne, who drew Apple's first logo and wrote its partnership agreement, worried about personal liability for the company's debts and sold his stake 12 days after the founding for $800. He later accepted a further $1,500 to waive any future claims.
Wayne has repeatedly said he has no regrets, even though his stake would be worth well over $100 billion today.
In which year did Apple become the first US public company to be valued at $1 trillion?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
2018
Apple's shares crossed the $1 trillion market value line on August 2, 2018, after strong iPhone X sales and a record quarterly report. It passed $2 trillion in August 2020 and $3 trillion in January 2022.
Chinese oil giant PetroChina briefly carried a disputed trillion dollar valuation in 2007, based on a tiny float of Shanghai-listed shares.
Which headphone and music company did Apple buy for about $3 billion in 2014?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Beats
Apple announced on May 28, 2014, that it would buy Beats Electronics and Beats Music, founded by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, for $3 billion. It was Apple's largest acquisition at the time, dwarfing the NeXT deal.
Beats Music was shut down the following year and its technology and staff helped build Apple Music, which launched in June 2015.
Apple's M1 chip, announced in November 2020, began the Mac's move away from processors made by which company?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Intel
Apple unveiled the M1, its first system on a chip designed for the Mac, on November 10, 2020, in a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. It ended 15 years of Intel-based Macs that began with the 2006 switch from PowerPC.
The M1 was the first personal computer chip built on a 5 nanometre process and packed 16 billion transistors.
In which year did the Apple Watch first go on sale?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
2015
Tim Cook unveiled the Apple Watch on September 9, 2014, as a one more thing moment alongside the iPhone 6, but it did not reach customers until April 24, 2015, in nine countries.
The launch range included an 18 karat gold Apple Watch Edition priced from $10,000, which was discontinued after a single generation.
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All Technology quizzes →About the Apple Quiz
Apple started in 1976 with two Steves, a third partner who sold his stake for $800, and a hand-built circuit board priced at $666.66. Forty-two years later it became the first American public company worth a trillion dollars. In between came the Macintosh, a boardroom exit for Steve Jobs, the Bondi Blue iMac, the iPod and a phone that changed everything.
These 15 questions cover Apple's founders, its biggest product launches, the people who ran it and the deals that shaped it, from NeXT to Beats. The opening questions are gentle, the later ones reward real fans. Ideal for anyone who has ever queued outside an Apple Store or argued about the best iPhone.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
Who founded Apple?
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple on April 1, 1976. Wayne sold his 10 percent stake back to the other two just 12 days later.
When was the first iPhone announced?
Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone at Macworld on January 9, 2007, the same day Apple dropped the word Computer from its name. It went on sale in June 2007.
How hard is this Apple quiz?
It is rated Medium. Most players will know the founders and the big product launches, while questions on Ronald Wayne, the Lisa and the Beats deal separate the true fans.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- In which year was Apple founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne?
1976 Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, in Los Altos, California, and was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January 1977. Its first product, the Apple I, was hand-built by Wozniak that same year. Apple's founding partnership agreement, signed by all three founders, sold at a Christie's auction in January 2026 for about $2 million. - Which Apple computer was launched in January 1984 with a famous Super Bowl commercial?
Macintosh The original Macintosh went on sale on January 24, 1984, two days after Apple's 1984 commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, aired during the Super Bowl. It was the first mass-market computer with a graphical interface and mouse. The 1984 ad was shown nationally only once, yet it is still regularly voted one of the greatest television commercials ever made. - Which Apple device, launched in October 2001, was promoted with the slogan "1,000 songs in your pocket"?
iPod The first iPod shipped with a 5 GB hard drive that held about 1,000 songs, a scroll wheel and a $399 price tag. It turned Apple into a consumer electronics company and paved the way for the iTunes Store in 2003. Apple sold more than 400 million iPods before quietly discontinuing the last model, the iPod touch, in May 2022. - Who became Apple's chief executive in August 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs?
Tim Cook Tim Cook, Apple's long-serving operations chief, was named CEO on August 24, 2011, when Jobs resigned because of ill health. Jobs died six weeks later, on October 5, 2011. Under Cook, Apple launched the Apple Watch, AirPods and its own M-series chips, and became the first US company valued at $1 trillion and then $3 trillion. - Which computer, hand-built by Steve Wozniak and sold for $666.66 in 1976, was the company's first product?
Apple I The Apple I was a bare circuit board that buyers had to supply with their own case, keyboard and display. Around 200 were made, and the Byte Shop in Mountain View ordered the first 50. Working Apple I boards are now prized collectibles, with several examples selling at auction for more than $400,000. - Which colour was the original iMac that Steve Jobs unveiled in 1998?
Bondi Blue The first iMac G3, revealed on May 6, 1998, came in a translucent blue-green that Apple named Bondi Blue after the Sydney beach. It was the first major product of the Jobs and Jony Ive partnership and revived Apple's fortunes. In 1999 Apple added five fruit colours, Blueberry, Grape, Tangerine, Lime and Strawberry, turning the iMac into a fashion object as much as a computer. - Which company did Apple buy in 1996 for around $400 million, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple?
NeXT Apple announced the purchase of NeXT, the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple, in December 1996. Its NeXTSTEP operating system became the foundation of Mac OS X, and Jobs was running Apple again within a year. Apple seriously considered buying Be Inc. and its BeOS instead, but founder Jean-Louis Gassée reportedly asked for too high a price. - In which year did Steve Jobs leave Apple after a boardroom power struggle with John Sculley?
1985 Jobs lost a showdown with CEO John Sculley, the former Pepsi executive he had recruited, and resigned in September 1985. He founded NeXT the same year and did not return to Apple until 1997. Jobs had famously lured Sculley to Apple in 1983 by asking whether he wanted to sell sugared water for the rest of his life or change the world. - Which 1983 Apple computer shared its name with Steve Jobs's daughter?
Lisa The Lisa launched in January 1983 at $9,995 and was the first personal computer sold with a graphical interface. Apple officially claimed the name stood for Locally Integrated Software Architecture, but Jobs later admitted it was named for his daughter Lisa. Lisa developers privately joked that the acronym really stood for Lisa: Invented Stupid Acronym, according to engineer Andy Hertzfeld. - Which word did Apple drop from its corporate name in January 2007?
Computer On January 9, 2007, the same Macworld keynote at which he unveiled the iPhone, Steve Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would become simply Apple Inc. to reflect its shift into consumer electronics. The same keynote introduced Apple TV, which had been teased months earlier under the codename iTV. - Ronald Wayne sold his 10 percent stake in Apple back to Jobs and Wozniak in 1976 for how much?
$800 Wayne, who drew Apple's first logo and wrote its partnership agreement, worried about personal liability for the company's debts and sold his stake 12 days after the founding for $800. He later accepted a further $1,500 to waive any future claims. Wayne has repeatedly said he has no regrets, even though his stake would be worth well over $100 billion today. - In which year did Apple become the first US public company to be valued at $1 trillion?
2018 Apple's shares crossed the $1 trillion market value line on August 2, 2018, after strong iPhone X sales and a record quarterly report. It passed $2 trillion in August 2020 and $3 trillion in January 2022. Chinese oil giant PetroChina briefly carried a disputed trillion dollar valuation in 2007, based on a tiny float of Shanghai-listed shares. - Which headphone and music company did Apple buy for about $3 billion in 2014?
Beats Apple announced on May 28, 2014, that it would buy Beats Electronics and Beats Music, founded by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, for $3 billion. It was Apple's largest acquisition at the time, dwarfing the NeXT deal. Beats Music was shut down the following year and its technology and staff helped build Apple Music, which launched in June 2015. - Apple's M1 chip, announced in November 2020, began the Mac's move away from processors made by which company?
Intel Apple unveiled the M1, its first system on a chip designed for the Mac, on November 10, 2020, in a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. It ended 15 years of Intel-based Macs that began with the 2006 switch from PowerPC. The M1 was the first personal computer chip built on a 5 nanometre process and packed 16 billion transistors. - In which year did the Apple Watch first go on sale?
2015 Tim Cook unveiled the Apple Watch on September 9, 2014, as a one more thing moment alongside the iPhone 6, but it did not reach customers until April 24, 2015, in nine countries. The launch range included an 18 karat gold Apple Watch Edition priced from $10,000, which was discontinued after a single generation.
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