Son didn't elaborate on which product Jobs discussed with Cook, but given this new information, the speculation that next year's iPhone 5 will be Jobs' final master stroke of product innovation now seems far more credible. You can check out the video here.
Hardly. The incredible company that Jobs built can handle the iPhones 5, 6 and 7 just fine. The iPhone 5 is probably already being tested on the Cupertino campus, and doesn't need any of the last 24 hours of Steve Jobs' attention.
The "next product" is more likely to be a new product category, like the iPad, iPhone and iPod were when first announced. Based on current rumours, that could be the "iTV" or something altogether different... What Steve Jobs was almost certainly not fretting about on the day before he died was the iPhone 5.
As a unique visionary, I'm sure Steve Jobs was very well aware that Apple's future for the next few years is assured, but what isn't is its future in 10, 20 years. My guess is that phone call was about a product that we'll first hear about in a decade.
I agree with your assessment. I might also boldly take another step and suggest even if Steve Jobs did not plan a new product category, Apple will still be very profitable in the next 10 years. They will continue be able to milk their existing products, and make minor updates. The iPod has been out for almost 10 years now. It's sales has declined but that was only because of iPhone's cannibalisation. Even if there was no iPhone, (e.g. if Steve Jobs died earlier), then Apple would still have at least 5 more years to go by coming up with their own new product category, e.g. an iPhone, without Steve Jobs, which would've been successful, but not wildly so; before peaking out and begin to decline.
This is only my opinion, based on observations of past companies that were only innovative while still being led by their original founders. Examples include HP, GE, Ford, and Apple itself.
The incredible company that Jobs built can handle the iPhones 5, 6 and 7 just fine. The iPhone 5 is probably already being tested on the Cupertino campus, and doesn't need any of the last 24 hours of Steve Jobs' attention.
You underestimate Steve Jobs. He was involved in all sorts of product and marketing detail, and certainly wouldn't have wanted to fixate on his own death when there was work to do.
From everything I've seen of Jobs' private life, it was all about his family. Up until the end he spent his time on the two things he loved the most: his family and Apple.
We should all be so lucky to find a job that we love doing 'til our last breath.
Isn't it far more likely that the meeting was about jobs' health, and the least suspicious story to tell a business partner to avoid speculation would be to say it is a meeting about the next iPhone?
"Son didn't elaborate on which product Jobs discussed with Cook, but given this new information, the speculation that next year's iPhone 5 will be Jobs' final master stroke of product innovation now seems far more credible. " :(
[+] [-] swombat|14 years ago|reply
Hardly. The incredible company that Jobs built can handle the iPhones 5, 6 and 7 just fine. The iPhone 5 is probably already being tested on the Cupertino campus, and doesn't need any of the last 24 hours of Steve Jobs' attention.
The "next product" is more likely to be a new product category, like the iPad, iPhone and iPod were when first announced. Based on current rumours, that could be the "iTV" or something altogether different... What Steve Jobs was almost certainly not fretting about on the day before he died was the iPhone 5.
As a unique visionary, I'm sure Steve Jobs was very well aware that Apple's future for the next few years is assured, but what isn't is its future in 10, 20 years. My guess is that phone call was about a product that we'll first hear about in a decade.
[+] [-] meric|14 years ago|reply
This is only my opinion, based on observations of past companies that were only innovative while still being led by their original founders. Examples include HP, GE, Ford, and Apple itself.
[+] [-] sabat|14 years ago|reply
You underestimate Steve Jobs. He was involved in all sorts of product and marketing detail, and certainly wouldn't have wanted to fixate on his own death when there was work to do.
[+] [-] ljmorsillo|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] technoslut|14 years ago|reply
We should all be so lucky to find a job that we love doing 'til our last breath.
[+] [-] vijaydev|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sabat|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mdwe|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sabat|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] snorkel|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] meric|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 0x12|14 years ago|reply
After all it paints a picture that Apple could not run itself without Steve even for a single day right up to the day he died.
[+] [-] Mordor|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] easy_rider|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
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