在 2026 年 3 月 27 日，WIRED 的 Steven Levy 报导，当 Apple 接近其第 50 周年时，这家曾在 2008 年 Macintosh 即将满 25 岁时，Steve Jobs 当场制止 Steve 回顾讨论的公司，现在却因「50 年」里程碑而参与一系列庆祝：演唱会、书籍、文章与口述历史等，显示公司在历史叙事上转向「被动纪念」，而非刻意修复。该文章以「未来五十年」为主题追问 Apple 能否在 AI 时代持续胜出。
Levy 访谈了 Apple 的全球行销资深副总裁 Greg Joswiak（1986 年加入）与硬体工程资深副总裁 John Ternus（在职 25 年），并在 Grand Central Station 的活动前简短对谈 Tim Cook。文章回顾 Apple 既有产品路线的历史断点：Macintosh 以图形使用者介面定义个人电脑友好度、iMac 导向网路浪潮、iPhone 逆势全面主导行动设备时代。该月推出的 MacBook Neo 被定位为延续「42 年」老牌产品系列，说明 Apple 对既有生态的延展能力。
在 AI 这个关键转折点，受访者否认 Apple 已经「掉队」：Joswiak 强调「我们在叫它 AI 之前就已在做 AI」，Ternus 则认为即便 AI 技术领先权不属于 Apple，iPhone 仍将是最核心使用入口。当被问到未来五十年的新硬体形态时，Joswiak 回应并未与 iPhone 对立，直接指出「iPhone 不会消失」。因此，许多看似「AI 专属」硬体概念，最终仍可能围绕现有 iPhone 形态生态。对于更长期，Tim Cook 表示：科技会改变，品类会增加，但 Apple 的文化与价值在未来 50 年、100 年、甚至 1,000 年都应该是「同一个 Apple」；他还明确否认未来领导页面会出现 agentic AI 模型；同时行业内如 OpenAI 的 Sam Altman 对 AI 继任者的想像，仍被视为另一套想像路径。
On March 27, 2026, WIRED’s Steven Levy reported that as Apple approached its 50th anniversary, the company that once pushed back on nostalgia after the Macintosh neared 25 years in 2008, with Steve Jobs shutting down a memory-heavy discussion, is now participating in concerts, books, articles, and oral histories, signaling a reluctant turn toward commemoration while it asks how to win in its next 50 years in an AI era.
Levy spoke with Greg Joswiak, Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing (joined in 1986), and John Ternus, SVP of hardware engineering (25 years with Apple), plus a brief conversation with Tim Cook. He framed Apple’s past inflection points: the Macintosh’s GUI and consumer-accessible computing, iMac’s role in the internet wave, and iPhone’s late but dominant mobile-era takeover. Even now, Apple released the MacBook Neo this month as the latest step in a 42-year franchise, reinforcing a strategy of extending existing ecosystems rather than abrupt abandonment.
On AI, the executives contested claims that Apple is behind. Joswiak said Apple was effectively doing AI before the label was common, while Ternus argued that even without leading AI invention, Apple can still be central because the iPhone is the best platform for AI use. When asked if iPhone could remain relevant fifty years out, Joswiak said it was hard to imagine a world without it, suggesting future AI-first hardware can remain iPhone-centric accessories. Tim Cook echoed a long-horizon thesis: technologies will change and categories will expand, but Apple’s people, values, and culture should remain stable for the next 50, 100, and 1,000 years; he also dismissed the idea of an agentic AI model leading the company, even as figures like OpenAI’s Sam Altman speculate about AI succession.