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In honor of Angela Ahrendts' departure from Apple, here's a look at what the company was like before she joined

Feb 7, 2019, 23:16 IST

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  • Apple announced this week that its retail chief, Angela Ahrendts, is leaving the company to embark on "new personal and professional pursuits."
  • Given her five-year run at Apple, we thought it would be interesting to look back at how the company was doing just before Ahrendts arrived there 2014. (Apple announced her hiring in October 2013.)
  • Here's a look at what Apple was like just before Angela Ahrendts joined the company.

In 2013, Apple had just announced and released iOS 7, the first major redesign of the iPhone software to look flatter and more minimalist.

The company was coming off a fiasco from the prior year, when Apple's new Maps app in iOS 6 was slammed for being inadequate, leading to the departure of longtime iOS chief Scott Forstall.

Source: Business Insider

The new phones that year were the iPhone 5S, the first phone with Touch ID, and the colorful iPhone 5C.

We're getting iPhone 5C vibes all these years later with the new iPhone XR.

The new Mac software in 2013 was OS X Mavericks — OS X would be rebranded into MacOS three years later, in 2016 — and it was a free update that introduced tabs to Finder, and a full Maps app on the desktop.

2013 was the last year we saw a new Mac Pro! Apple announced its top-of-the-line desktop at WWDC in June, and released the computer in December, with a starting price of $3,000.

The Mac Pro from 2013 currently holds the record for the longest life of an unchanged Mac model, having remained on sale, unchanged, for over 1,700 days.

In 2013, Apple also had one of its best tablet years ever. It introduced the iPad Air, which weighed just one pound and was as thin as a pencil.

Apple also released its second-generation iPad mini that year, the first one with a Retina display. It was a big hit.

Five years ago, Apple had about 100 fewer global stores than it does now. It had 416 then, and has about 506 today.

Source: Statista

Speaking of retail, 2013 was the year we got the viral 6-second video of a woman's righteous meltdown in an Apple store, embedded below.

In 2013, we got Ashton Kutcher's Steve Jobs biopic, "JOBS." It earned just $6.7 million in its first weekend, grossing $35.9 million worldwide.

Source: Business Insider

The Apple Watch wasn't even a thing yet! Back in 2013, rumors of an "iWatch" were all over the internet, fueled by reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal that said Apple had over 100 people working on a smart wristwatch.

Source: New York Times, The Wall Street Journal

In July, Apple hired former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve for "special projects," which gave credence to the idea that Apple was about to get into fashion in some form. (Deneve was removed from the executive team listings in 2016.)

Source: Business Insider

Then, in October that year, Apple announced former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts would be coming to Apple to lead its retail and online stores, filling the vacancy left by John Browett that previous year.

Source: Business Insider

Ahrendts is largely credited for improving the culture at Apple's retail stores, sending regular video messages to the company's 70,000+ employees in its 500 stores around the world with goals to stay focused on.

Ahrendts also helped transform Apple's online and in-store experiences, adding the Today with Apple classes to teach new customers how to use their devices.

Ahrendts' replacement will be Deirdre O'Brien, a 30-year veteran of the company who previously ran Apple's human resources division. Her new role is called "senior VP of Retail + People."

Source: Business Insider

Learn more about O'Brien here.

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