Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Founded Apple Together

The Apple Computer Company was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak on April 1, 1976, in Los Altos, California. Wozniak designed and built the first Apple computer—called the Apple I—largely by himself in his garage. Jobs recognized its potential, handled the business side, and convinced Wozniak they should start a company to sell it. Neither man invented the personal computer as a concept, but together they created one of the first machines straightforward and affordable enough for ordinary people to own.

The two met in 1971 when Jobs was 16 and Wozniak was 21. Wozniak was already an electronics enthusiast who had built computers from spare parts. Jobs was interested in technology and business but had no engineering background. Their partnership worked because they had different skills: Wozniak could engineer what didn't exist yet, and Jobs could see what people would actually want to buy.

Key Takeaways

  • Steve Wozniak designed and built the Apple I computer in 1976; Steve Jobs co-founded the company and handled business and marketing.
  • The Apple I was one of the first personal computers sold as a complete, ready-to-use machine rather than a kit you had to assemble yourself.
  • The Apple II, released in 1977, was the first computer to use a color display and became the machine that made Apple a real business.
  • Jobs and Wozniak did not invent the personal computer concept—they made it practical and desirable for home and small business use.

What the Apple I Actually Was

The Apple I was a circuit board—not a complete computer in the way we think of one today. It had no case, no keyboard, no monitor, and no power supply when Wozniak finished it. A buyer had to provide those parts themselves and solder connections. The machine cost $666.66 when it was first sold in 1976, which is roughly $3,300 in today's money.

Despite its limitations, the Apple I was revolutionary because it used a MOS Technology 6502 processor—a cheap, powerful chip that made personal computing affordable. Wozniak's design was elegant and efficient; he had written the code that let the machine display text on a television screen, something most hobbyists thought would require far more complex engineering. A local computer store called the Byte Shop ordered 50 of them, which gave Jobs and Wozniak their first real sale.

The Apple II Changed Everything

The Apple II, released in April 1977, was the machine that actually turned Apple into a company. It came in a plastic case, had a built-in keyboard, and could display color graphics—none of which the Apple I could do. It was the first personal computer that looked like a finished product rather than a hobbyist project. The price started at $1,298, which was still expensive but within reach of small businesses and serious home users.

The Apple II's success came from two things: it was genuinely useful for real work, and Jobs made sure it was marketed to people who weren't electronics experts. He hired experienced business people, secured venture capital funding, and positioned Apple as a company making tools for regular people, not just hobbyists. By 1980, Apple was selling thousands of computers a year and had become a real competitor in the emerging personal computer market.

Wozniak's Engineering and Jobs's Vision

Wozniak's contribution was the engineering. He understood electronics at a deep level and could solve problems that seemed impossible to other engineers. He wrote much of the Apple I's code by hand and designed circuits that did more with fewer parts than anyone thought possible. His work was so good that when he returned to Hewlett-Packard (where he was working at the time), his managers asked him to design computers for them—but he chose to stay with Apple instead.

Jobs's contribution was different but equally important. He saw that computers would become consumer products, not just tools for scientists and engineers. He pushed for design that was straightforward and beautiful, not just functional. He understood that people would buy computers if they were straightforward to use and solved real problems. He also had the confidence to make big decisions—like deciding to hire a professional management team and pursue venture capital when most startups were still run by their founders alone.

The Role of Other People and Companies

While Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple, other people contributed important pieces. Ronald Wayne, a third co-founder, wrote the Apple I manual and designed the first Apple logo. He left the company after 12 days and sold his share for $800—a decision that cost him billions later. Mike Markkula, Apple's first major investor, provided $250,000 in funding in 1977 and became the company's first chairman. Without Markkula's money and business experience, Apple would likely have remained a small operation.

The personal computer itself was not invented by Apple. Altair 8800, made by MITS, came out in 1975 and is often called the first personal computer. The Commodore PET and TRS-80 were released around the same time as the Apple II. What made Apple different was that Jobs and Wozniak understood that computers needed to be designed for people who weren't engineers, and they built a company around that idea from the start.

How the Partnership Ended

Wozniak left Apple in 1985, though he remained an employee and company ambassador for many years. By that time, Apple had grown far beyond what either of them had imagined in 1976. Jobs remained CEO and continued to shape the company's direction. The two men had different visions for what Apple should become, and Wozniak wanted to step back from the intense pressure of running a major corporation.

Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985 after a conflict with the board of directors and CEO John Sculley. He later returned to Apple in 1997 when the company was struggling, and he led it to become one of the most valuable companies in the world. Wozniak has spent his career as an engineer and educator, teaching computer science and speaking about the early days of personal computing.

Why This Matters Today

The Apple I and Apple II established a pattern that shaped the entire personal computer industry: design for the user, not the engineer. Before Apple, computers were sold as kits or bare boards. After Apple, they came in cases with keyboards and monitors included. Before Apple, computers were marketed to hobbyists and businesses. After Apple, they were marketed to families and individuals who had no technical background.

Jobs and Wozniak did not invent the transistor, the microprocessor, or the concept of a personal computer. What they did was recognize that these existing technologies could be combined in a way that ordinary people would want to use. That insight—that technology should serve people rather than the other way around—became the foundation of Apple's identity and influenced how the entire tech industry thinks about design and user experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Steve Jobs actually know how to code or design computers?

No. Jobs had no formal training in engineering or programming. His role was to recognize what was possible and what people wanted, then hire and direct the people who could build it. Wozniak did the actual engineering work on the Apple I and early Apple II designs.

What happened to the other co-founder, Ronald Wayne?

Wayne left Apple after 12 days and sold his 10 percent stake for $800. He later worked in the computer industry but never returned to Apple. His early departure meant he missed out on the company's enormous growth, though he has said he was happy with his choice at the time.

Could the Apple I have succeeded without Steve Jobs?

Probably not as a business. Wozniak could have built the computer, but Jobs was the one who saw it as a product to sell, found the first customer, and convinced Wozniak to start a company. Without Jobs's business sense and marketing instinct, the Apple I might have remained a hobbyist curiosity.

How much did the first Apple computers cost compared to other computers at the time?

The Apple I at $666 was cheaper than the Altair 8800 and comparable to other early personal computers. The Apple II at $1,298 was more expensive than the Commodore PET but came with more features. Both were still far cheaper than minicomputers or mainframes, which cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Did Apple invent the graphical user interface?

No. The graphical user interface was developed at Xerox PARC in the 1970s. Steve Jobs saw it during a visit to Xerox and recognized its potential. Apple later used similar ideas in the Macintosh, released in 1984, but did not invent the concept.