Today marks the 11th anniversary of the death from pancreatic cancer of Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple. He is arguably most known for the January 9, 2007, release of the iPhone. Steve exhibited the iPhone with the assurance of someone who knew he was showcasing a product that was about to transform the world in a faultless performance for both Jobs and the iPhone.
Ironically, Apple debuted the iPhone 4S the day before Jobs passed away. He was only 56 years old when he died. This was the first iPhone to feature Siri and while some said that the “S” in the phone’s name stood for Siri, others said (a few days after the unveiling) that it was a tribute to Steve Jobs. In reality, neither was correct. Apple was only adding the letter to the name of the iPhone from the year before with the same design as the new model, as it did with the iPhone 3GS.
In November 2010, Jobs also presented the first iPad. The #Antennagate controversy, which affected the number of signal bars on the iPhone 4 when held by the lower left corner of the device, also revolved around him. One of the most well-known remarks attributed to Jobs that he never stated resulted from that. Jobs was responding to an email from an iPhone 4 user.
The message read, “Dear Mr. Jobs: I adore my brand-new iPhone 4 (good job), however when I hold the steel bands, I completely lose reception. It seems to be a widespread problem. Will this be fixed? Greetings, Aram.” Just avoid holding it in that way, Jobs replied. You’re holding it wrong, Steve said in response, which somehow came to be taken as a literal quote. A complimentary rubber bumper that protected the antenna bands from interference from your hands was eventually distributed by Apple.
Jobs had triumphantly returned to Apple in 1997 prior to the release of the iPhone. In 1983, he appointed John Sculley, a Pepsi executive, as Apple’s CEO. Then Sculley fired Jobs, who while working at Apple also founded Next and Pixar, which was later acquired by Disney. When Apple acquired Next, it provided Jobs with a way back into the company, and he assumed the position of CEO (although it was supposed to be on an interim basis).
Jobs introduced a number of items that might never be repeated. The first computer with colourful translucent polycarbonate was the iMac. Then came the iPod, Apple’s MP3 device with a battery life of 10 hours and the capacity to store an astounding 1,000 songs. The iPad came next (need I say more), then the iPhone.
Tim Cook, who was hand-picked by Steve Jobs to succeed him, has done a fantastic job taking over as CEO of Apple.
