---
title: "Which came first, Apple or Star Wars?"
description: "Apple vs Star Wars: Apple came first, by one year — 1976 against 1977. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-star-wars/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Apple or Star Wars?

**Which came first, Apple or Star Wars?: Apple**

1976 — one year before Star Wars

Apple came first, by one year. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

## Side by side

|  | Apple | Star Wars |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1976 | 1977 |
| Date | 1976-04-01 | 1977-05-25 |
| Category | company | media |
| What happened | Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company. | The first film opened in 32 American cinemas. |

## Apple

Apple was founded on 1 April 1976, a year and a day after Microsoft. Ronald Wayne, the third founder, sold his 10% stake back for $800 twelve days later. The Apple I was a bare circuit board sold for $666.66; the Apple II of 1977 was the machine that made the company.

## Star Wars

Star Wars opened in May 1977 on fewer than forty screens because the distributor had little faith in it, and it went on to be the highest-grossing film made to that point. Fox let Lucas keep the merchandising and sequel rights in exchange for a lower directing fee, a decision that transferred an extraordinary amount of money. It is eleven years younger than Star Trek.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Apple or Star Wars?

Apple, by one year — 1976 against 1977.

### When did Apple start?

1976. Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Company.

### When did Star Wars start?

1977. The first film opened in 32 American cinemas.

## Related pages

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- [Apple or Microsoft?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-microsoft/)
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- [Apple or email?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-email/)
- [Apple or the Macintosh?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-macintosh/)
- [Apple or Windows?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-windows/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]