There is no denying, whether you’re a Mac or PC user, Android or iPhone, that Apple has created some of the best, and most beautiful, tech products over the company’s 40 year history. There is also no denying that no one believes it has created some of the best, most beautiful tech products in the last several decades than Apple itself.
Every Apple conference is always a mix of interesting new hardware or software and a healthy dose of self-congratulation. It’s become part of the experience watching an Apple event seeing the company’s top executives discuss its new products with an absurd amount of hyperbolic speech, only it’s not hyperbolic to them because they wholly believe every word.
Apple reached a new level of self-love today when it announced the release of a book chronicling 20 years of the company’s design through 450 photographs by Andrew Zuckerman. Titled Designed by Apple in California, the book is dedicated to the memory of the company’s founder and largest personality, Steve Jobs, who died in 2011. The tome centers on Apple’s most successful period, starting with the iMac in 1998 and ending with 2015, which saw Apple release several new products like the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.
“The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve’s motivation from the beginning, and it remains both our ideal and our goal as Apple looks to the future,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, in a statement. “This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines.”
For a company with as much pride as Apple, this may be the most prideful thing it has ever done. It’s hard to argue it shouldn’t celebrate the last several decades, but the tech industry always cares more about the future than the past.