Apple, Inc. needs no introduction. Apple is currently world’s most valuable company. It has more operating cash than even the US treasury. Its iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Mac PC occupies the top position of every tech-lover’s wishlist. But there is more to this 40-year-old company than meets the eye. Here are 10 unknown facts about Apple.

1 The ‘i’ in Apple products originally stood for “Internet,” although Apple now claims that it also stands for “individual, instruct, inform and inspire.”

Apple products have gained a unique identity worldwide due to its unparalleled design and function. One other feature that makes these products stand out in the crowd is the letter “i.” Apple’s brand of “i-products” begun with the launch of iMac. During the debut of iMac, Apple’s co-founder and then CEO, Steve Jobs, said that the “i” stood for “Internet” and “Mac” for Macintosh. Later, Steve Jobs assigned four other meanings for the “i” in “i-products.” They are:” individual, instruct, inform and inspire.”(source)

2 Apple is the most profitable American retailer per square foot, earning $5,546 in sales per square foot.

The profitability of any retail real estate is measured by sales per square foot. The retailer who tops this metric currently is Apple. Due to the hefty price tags of its products, Apple retailers make average sales of $5,546 per square foot.(source)

3 Apple has about 800 million iTunes accounts, and most of them are linked with credit card accounts which makes Apple one of the highest credit card information holders in the world.

In 2013, Apple had 575 million iTunes accounts. In 2014, iTunes accounts increased by 40%, and 800 million iTunes accounts were registered worldwide. This is several times more than the number of customer accounts of even Paypal and Amazon. Most of the iTunes accounts are linked to credit card accounts. That’s why Apple now holds a trove of credit card numbers.(source)

4 Apple used to add the letter “x” to the names of their computers which got a processor upgrade. The convention was broken with Macintosh SE/30, which, if the rule had been followed, would be called “Macintosh SEx.”

Before the Macintosh SE/30, when an Apple product was upgraded to the 68030 processor, the letter “x” was added to the model’s name. But when Macintosh SE was updated and the 68030 processor was installed in it, its name posed an awkward problem. That’s because the upgraded name would be “Macintosh SEx.” Since Apple didn’t want to use this name, the code “SE/30” was chosen and the product was named Macintosh SE/30.(source)

5 Apple had offered to cover the cost of freezing the eggs of female employees who want to delay having a baby while they pursue their careers.

Apple has started offering its women employees an unbelievable perk. It will now bear the cost of freezing their eggs as part of a fertility benefit. Since having a high-powered career and children at the same time is a difficult thing to do, Apple began investing in women and support them to shape their career. One other Silicon Valley firm, Facebook, has also extended the same perks to their women employees.(source)

6 If Apple finds out about any child laborer working for it or any of its suppliers, then Apple pays for the child’s education along with the wages and a guaranteed job after the completion of his or her education.

Most parts of Apple’s products are built in companies situated outside of USA. Unsavory labor practices of those companies often affect Apple’s brand name. To curb the injustice, Apple has taken many steps such as auditing the factories, reimbursing unpaid workers, and tackling violations “proactively.” Yet, there are still a number of individuals whose working conditions had remained unexamined.

Survey and auditing in 2014 revealed 16 cases at six facilities where Apple found child laborers. Later, Apple reported that all of them were “successfully remediated,” i.e. the suppliers were made to bear all expense for the children’s education. Along with education, they also had to pay them wages and offer them jobs when the children finish their education and come of age.(source)

7 Apple sells its iPhone 6s Plus at three times the cost of its production charge.

A teardown analysis by research firm IHS has revealed that when a customer buys an iPhone 6s Plus device, they pay three times its production cost. To make an iPhone 6s Plus device, Apple spends $231.50, and after adding the manufacturing costs, it amounts to $236. Then it sells the iPhone at a 217.4 % markup, i.e. at $749.(source)

8 Apple’s chief designer, Jonathan Ive, has a private lab that only his team and top Apple executives are allowed into. It is so secret that Ive refuses to allow his children to enter.

Jonathan Ive started working full-time with Apple in 1992 and became the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design in 1997. Currently, Ive runs his own design office at Apple and is the only Apple designer to have a private office. His design studio contains all the concepts and prototypes of the projects that Apple is working on currently. His office is an extremely well-kept secret, and even its windows are tinted. No one except his core team and top Apple executives is allowed access into his office. Even his children don’t have permission to enter his secret studio.(source)

9 The service at Apple’s Retail Store is inspired by a luxury hotel chain known for its legendary service – the Ritz-Carlton.

Before opening the first Apple store, CEO Steve Jobs and Ron Jhonson asked their employees about the best customer experience they ever had. Everyone gave the same answer: a five-star hotel or resort such as Ritz Carlton Resort or the Four Seasons Hotel. Apple soon enrolled all its would-be Apple store managers under the training and leadership program of Ritz-Carlton. This training gave rise to a new innovation, the Apple Genius Bar.(1,2)

10 Apple owns a patent for a pizza box design which was designed by its food services team.

After mobiles, computers, and the music industry, Apple has now redefined the pizza box. Designed by Apple’s head of food services, Francesco Longoni, this circular pizza box has holes in specific places. These holes allow moisture and heat to escape which prevents the pizza from becoming soggy. This box allows the Apple employees to take their pizzas from the staff canteen to their desk. Apple patented the design of this pizza box in 2012.(source)