24 April 2015: The Apple Watch arrives
Apple's first new product category since the iPad, the Apple Watch, went on sale on April 24, 2015. Reviews were mixed, and many wondered why anyone needed a computer on their wrist. Apple never published unit sales, which skeptics read as a bad sign. Yet within a few years Apple was by many estimates the world's largest watchmaker by revenue, and the Swiss watch industry had a new rival.
The lesson: A slow start is not a verdict; products that fit into an existing ecosystem can grow quietly.
What it meant for investors
$1,000 in Apple at the start of 2015 → $9,259 today, vs $3,301 in the S&P 500.
We start the clock at the start of 2015, the year it happened. That is 9.3 times the money, and $5,958 more than a plain index fund made over the same years.
What Apple teaches: The best returns often come from companies that looked finished; Apple was a near-bankrupt also-ran in 1997, which is exactly why it was cheap.
| Bought in | Price then | Worth today | S&P 500 would be |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $27.00 | $9,259 | $3,301 |
| 2018 | $43.00 | $5,814 | $2,519 |
| 2020 | $75.00 | $3,333 | $2,092 |
green = beat the S&P 500 · red = lost money
What if you bought Apple? Every starting year and the full story →
More Apple history
- 2 January 2019: Tim Cook writes a letter nobody wanted to read
- 9 January 2007: Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone
- 24 January 1984: The Macintosh goes on sale
- 27 January 2010: Apple unveils the iPad
- 1 April 1976: Apple is founded, and one co-founder cashes out early
- 11 April 1976: The Apple I goes on sale for $666.66
Could you have called it at the time? The wheel picks the year, you pick the position, ten seconds a pick.
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