Apple and IBM End Decade-Long Rivalry with Historic Partnership

October 2nd marked a significant turning point in Apple's history when the company and IBM shook hands, putting aside their decade-long rivalry. In 1981, Apple was already positioning IBM as its main competitor after the launch of the IBM Personal Computer.

The tension between the two tech giants culminated in Apple's infamous '1984' Macintosh commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, which depicted IBM as Big Brother. However, by the early 1990s, Apple realized that Microsoft posed a greater threat than IBM.

CEO John Sculley gave a demo to IBM engineers showing an Apple operating system running on an IBM PS/2 Model 7 PC in April 1991. This led to the Apple-IBM deal, where IBM would help finish Apple's 'Pink' operating system and provide a license for its PowerPC processor.

The deal marked one of only three times Apple would change its chip provider, with the next two transitions coming in 2005 when Apple switched from Intel chips and again in 2020 when Cupertino began producing Macs powered by custom Apple silicon. The 'Pink' operating system ultimately became Taligent, but it stalled and Apple pulled out of its deal with IBM in 1995.