In October 2001, Apple unveiled the first iPod. The cigarette-pack-sized digital music player offered 5GB of storage (enough for about 1,000 songs) and a simple interface. It was an instant hit.
The development of the iPod had been ordered by Jobs – who disliked existing digital music players and their difficult interfaces – and was overseen by engineering head Jon Rubinstein and product designer Jonathan Ive.
The iPod worked with Apple’s music management software, iTunes, which had been introduced in January 2001. The combination of the two, with their ease of use and powerful features, made the iPod a smash. Apple began a quick expansion of the iPod product line to include the Mini, nano, Shuffle, and later the touch, introducing new iPods roughly every six months.
ITunes also evolved and added the iTunes Store for downloadable sales of music in 2003 and movies in 2005. With that move, Apple cemented its place in the music industry and made the iPod/iTunes combination the de facto standard for digital music consumption and playback. By 2008, Apple had become the world's largest retailer of music (online or offline), and record companies began to worry about Apple’s dominance in their business. In 2009, the iTunes Store sold its 6 billionth song.
The iPhone
In January 2007, Apple expanded on the success of the iPod, and positioned itself to revolutionize another market, when it announced the iPhone. That device was developed with Jobs’ oversight and involvement and was an instant hit upon its release. The first iPhone sold 270,000 units in its first 30 hours of availability, while its successor, the iPhone 3G, sold 1 million units in its first three days just a year later.
By March 2009, Apple had sold over 17 million iPhones, and had surpassed quarterly sales of the previously dominant smartphone, the Blackberry.
Following on the success of the iTunes Store, the iPhone got an App Store, offering third-party software, in July 2008. By January 2009, it had registered 500 million downloads, a mark it took the iTunes Store two years to reach. Apple had another hit on its hands.
Health Leave
Amidst this success, Jobs was dogged by questions about his health, especially after the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) appearance in 2006.
In January 2009, Jobs issued a statement saying that his appearance was related to a hormonal imbalance that drained his body of necessary proteins. The statement added that his doctors thought they’d found a cause, that he’d seek treatment, and that he wouldn’t speak more on the topic, as he felt it was a personal matter.
However, less than 10 days later it was announced that Jobs’ health problems were more serious than first realized and that he’d be taking a six-month leave of absence from the company. The company’s stock initially took a beating, but recovered to a level only a few points below the announcement within about a week. Tim Cook, the company’s chief operating officer, served as CEO in Jobs’ stead.
Jobs returned to work at Apple in late June 2009, as scheduled. He was reportedly deeply involved with Apple after his return.
The iPad
Under Jobs' leadership, Apple developed and released two generations of the iPad. The iPad transformed the previously obscure tablet computer market into a powerhouse that competitors have been unable to equal and that threatens to overturn the traditional personal computer market. With sales of over 25 million iPads in little more than a year, it's the device most-credited with ushering in the "post-PC" era of computing and stands poised to further transform our relationship with technology.
Resignation
On Aug. 23, 2011--in the midst of another health-related leave from the company--Jobs resigned as Apple's CEO, saying he "could no longer meet my duties and expectations." Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook took over for jobs as Apple CEO, though Jobs retained his position as Chair of the Apple board, his title of director, and continued to be an Apple employee.
Jobs died roughly six weeks after his resignation.
Steve Jobs’ Legacy
Perhaps no other executive in modern memory, with the possible exception of Bill Gates, has been as closely tied to his company, and its success – or the public perception of that success, at least – as Jobs.
Some, including Rolling Stone writer Steve Knopper, have even compared Jobs and his legacy to those of legendary business figures like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney. Others, however, have been less laudatory, placing him on a second tier of historical business figures due to his smaller accumulated wealth and charitable contributions.
Despite any analysis that places Jobs in rare historical company, his management and personal styles have also been the subject of legend and anxiety. Jobs was jokingly said to possess a “reality distortion field,” a term used by many to describe the force of his personality and presence, and his ability to convince people of the correctness of his positions.
His personality also led to criticism of a management style that included strong doses of both fear and secrecy. Under Jobs, Apple was notorious for tightly protecting details of new products launches, going so far as to sue rumors websites and hold up deals with partners who leaked information. In the new millennium, Apple has become known for its desire to — and general success in doing so — control press coverage about it.
Despite these criticisms, the Apple Jobs built is strong, with over $75 billion in cash on hand, growing marketshare, and a deeply devoted customer base. In Sept. 2011, it became the most valuable company in the world.
Criticism notwithstanding, Steve Jobs was a technology visionary who has transformed at least two markets — computers and digital music — and might yet have a lasting impact on a third, cell phones.
