What and where is Cupertino?

Cupertino is a Californian city that is mentioned again and again in connection with the Apple company. Because the iPhone manufacturer has its headquarters in the city, more precisely in Apple Park, which is relatively central and on the 280 freeway. In addition to its headquarters, the company, which grew up with the Mac computer, maintains other facilities in Cupertino, such as Apple Central on the Wolfe Campus, several branch offices known as campuses and, last but not least, the Steve Jobs Theater. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was associated with the city in part because he went to high school there.

Where is Cupertino?

The city of Cupertino is located in the central west of the US state of California, more precisely in Santa Clara County. With around 60.000 residents, the town fits seamlessly into the neighborhoods of San José to the east, Saratoga to the south, Rancho San Antonio County Park & ​​Open Space Preserve to the west, and Sunnyvale to the north. Further north is the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in the bay, whose entrance to the sea is shaped by San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. All around there is not only the Pacific to discover, but also plenty of mountains and parks - no wonder that many of the Mac operating systems have corresponding names.

Cupertino as part of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley got its name around 1971. It goes back to the word "silicon" and to its geographical location in the Santa Clara Valley. Because in this area there were and are more than 1.000 companies that deal with the research, design and construction of computer technology. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley, which of course also includes Cupertino, extends into the San Francisco Peninsula. Sunnyvale (north of the City of Cupertino) could be identified as the central location of the area. Basically, Silicon Valley produces every conceivable business that can be associated with computers and digital offers.

Apple's connection to Cupertino and California

Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in Los Altos, also in Silicon Valley. The location was chosen because it was Steve Jobs' childhood home where the Apple I computer was built. It wasn't until 1977 that the first "real" offices and other company facilities were rented - and that happened in Cupertino. Through the history and connection with the region and the state of California as a whole, a corresponding reference to the company's origin is constantly being created in the various products and presentations. Last but not least, they have different versions of OS X and macOS Names of California landmarks. The Special event in September 2021 was also called "California Streaming".

Apple Park as the second Apple campus in Cupertino

Apple maintained its first "Apple Campus" in Cupertino from 1993 to 2017 with the address 1 Infinity Loop as its corporate headquarters. From 2013, however, the Apple Park was built, which was then still planned as "Apple Campus 2". Since 2017/2018, the round building with the Steve Jobs Theater as an adjoining building has been the headquarters - it is located at the address One Apple Park Way in Cupertino. The first campus will continue to be used by Apple for offices and research facilities. As the name suggests, inside the round company headquarters there is a park, which also includes a pond, an event stage and other facilities. The design comes from the architect Norman Foster.

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.