Steve Jobs Continued Working on Apple's 'Next Product' Until Day Before He Died

[TimTheEnchanter]

...as Tim leans in, Steve whispers into his ear... there is another Skywalker

epic Steve

You win the internetz

Thank you! Glad my reference wasn't lost.

It's hard not to recognize how fitting this iconic Star Wars scene is to this moment. I stayed away from the obvious and predictable "Tim... there's One More Thing."

The man is immortal.

 

[divinox]

This proofs he was fully conscious until the very end. It must have been horrible to die of asphyxia.

from what i've read, its closer to the opposite.

Anyhow, we shouldn't read too much into this. For example, what if Jobs called Cook to say "Goodbye". What would Cook say? Hey, Jobs just called me. He's probably not lasting the night.

...like that would happen.

 

[bradl]

The more that things like this come to light, the easier it is to compare or even call Steve this generation's or the Tech sector's Freddie Mercury.

1. Both branded themselves in their own way: Steve through his look, Freddie through his look and showmanship.

2. Both had a terminal illness, and handled it gracefully

3. Both kept their business at the fore, staying grounded, instead of having pity parties for what is happening to them.

4. Both kept at their craft until the very end. These Are the Days of Our Lives was Queen's last video, and Freddie's last appearance on camera; he died two months later. Steve: the thread title says it all.

5. Both left a deep and meaningful farewell. Mercury: listen to the above song; it says more than enough. Jobs: Walter's question about why Steve wanted the biography.

Frighteningly similar, these two, later in their lives.

BL.

 

[bboyredcel]

The likelihood of steve calling about apple's next product is very low. The probability of a family member calling Tim and maybe putting Steve on the phone is much higher and most likely. I doubt the conversation was of a "next product" because the day before steve passed away, im sure everyone knew it was inevitable. Steve probably lacked the strength to even speak much that day. With that said, im pretty sure that Tim used the "next product" line to get out of the meeting to tend to the matter at hand (steves imminent death) while not disrupting the mood of the meeting, and also to keep Steve's situation private.

Imagine if word got out, even to one person outside his circle, that Steve was about to die the day before he did? There would be a media sheetstorm and helicopters/media would swarm to his house and literally ruin the last moments steve's family had with him. It would be irresponsible, and actually deplorable, if Tim said anything to indicate anything other than Steve being up and about calling him about their "next product". I cant believe people think that Steve was working and calling Tim about this when he was almost definitely surrounded by his family, preparing for the end (or in and out of consciousness, too weak to do much of anything). How is this even an article? Its quite obvious that "the call" wasnt about what Tim led Son to believe it was. Why would he be honest about something like that?

 

[farmboy]

FU** "alternative medicine". There's usually no harm in doing so-called "alternative medicine" in addition to doing modern medicine, but when people fall for the BS and choose to do alternative medicine INSTEAD of doing modern medicine then it literally kills people and robs the world of people who still had so much more to give. Steve Jobs clearly still had so much more good stuff inside of him that he wanted to create for all of us. But now he's dead way before he had to be, which is terrible for him, and he died before creating all the great technology for the world that he would've gone on to create, which sucks for us. All that loss due to his insisting on doing alternative medicine instead of modern medicine. Until he finally turned to western medicine when it was already too late.

eff alternative medicine.

First, you're repeating stories but don't know any of this for a fact. My bias is chemo-radiation-surgery as required, but not all "alternative medicine" is bogus either. Second, he lived for 8 years after that diagnosis, compared to the average of 5 years. Whatever regimen he did was more effective than the standard.

 

[Caliber26]

but who do the stockholders report to ???

Their spouses.

 

[CodeBreaker]

The more I learn about this man, the more ashamed I feel about my day to day activities. When I fall sick and get off from work it doesn't even occur to me to think what's going on in my office.

 

[lukepowell1988]

You're joking, right? It doesn't even remotely look real.

i hope it is not real it was disturbing

 

[jwiggs23]

i hope it is not real it was disturbing

It's fake, that video of him talking is from the D8 conference last summer. And him collapsing, that's just fake.

 

[Lee Adama]

Pretty sad to be working instead of spending time with your family.

1-it was one phone call
2- he was at home with his family in the last few months of his life.

i'd say Steve probably had a better handle on things than most of us would. He was dedicated to his family. He was dedicated to his job which was really his life and kept him going in the last few months. The fact that he continued to work on these products tells me he loved what he did and didn't want to let go of it. He could have left Apple much sooner than he did. He obviously loved what he did and luckily for us, we got to experience that passion.

 

[divinox]

The more I learn about this man, the more ashamed I feel about my day to day activities. When I fall sick and get off from work it doesn't even occur to me to think what's going on in my office.

Which, to me, just implies: You shouldn't (think, or be ashamed). To paraphrase Jobs himself, live your life - not his; follow your heart, don't do what others expect you to do.

 

[Wicked1]

I thought Cook was the boss already at that time. Didn't Steve Jobs already step down from being CEO by then?

Apple was Steve's baby, I do not think anyone would ever get in between him and his vision, most likely they let him do whatever he wanted...

I am interested to see what the next 4 years of products are as they are part of his 4 year vision, it will be interesting in any event, and what Apple does now going forward, hopefully they will continue with the same momentum.

 

[entatlrg]

"Steve Jobs continued to work on Apple's "next product" at least up until the day before he died earlier this month"

Gee, thanks dad.
--Steve's kids

This thread is full of sick and unnecessary posts like this.

You have NO idea of the real circumstances at hand, Steve was well known to be extremely close to his family.

In a situation like this, more than ever, if you have nothing good or decent to say about the man just move along ...

 

[Aspasia]

I know, right?! A bit laughable that this comment got 4 thumbs down.. which of you would rather work than spend time with family?

He WAS with his family.

 

[leroypants]

Jobs was the text book example of working yourself to death (go ahead and rate this down fanboys), it's actually quite sad he spent the last days working instead of spending more time with his family.

 

[benpatient]

This thread is full of sick and unnecessary posts like this.

You have NO idea of the real circumstances at hand, Steve was well known to be extremely close to his family.

In a situation like this, more than ever, if you have nothing good or decent to say about the man just move along ...

It's funny, but in my opinion, people saying how great it was that he was so focused on Apple even though he was on death's door are the ones saying nasty things about him.

To suggest that his family meant to little to him that he would be conducting product development business the day before he died is insulting to his memory as a human, a husband, and a father.

 

[RMo]

"the iPad 3 that will make an appearance before the next iPhone..."

Really? I know this is a rumors site, but I haven't heard anything about launch dates for the next iPad or iPhone, although history seems to indicate that a spring and fall launch, respectively, are probably not bad guesses. (In fact, I've heard even less about the iPad--and, who knows, maybe they'll push it back to summer.)

I just don't think this should be stated so confidently.

 

[108]

it's worth noting that, in japanese, this man's native language, words don't have plural forms.

i lived in japan for ten years, and occasionally spoke english with many non-native speakers whose english ability was far beyond mr. son's, here, and even they made the occasional mistake of leaving the "s" off the end of a plural noun, even one that had just been brought up in conversation.

so, tim cook might have been talking about products.

what i am saying is that, on his last day alive, steve jobs might have, in that one phone call, described to tim cook literally an entire decade of products.

. . . !!!

 

[AidenShaw]

...what i am saying is that, on his last day alive, steve jobs might have, in that one phone call, described to tim cook literally an entire decade of products.

. . . !!!

Or, it could simply have been a farewell call - to congratulate Tim on the 4S launch and say "goodbye".

My parents, and other relatives and friends have fought and lost battles against cancer.

Most of them near the end have said words to the effect that "I'm tired of fighting, it's time to go", and died within a very short time thereafter.

With sadness, I suspect that Steve may have felt closure with the 4S launch, and realized that it was time to stop fighting a losing battle. I also believe that his pain management regime would not have left him the ability to lay out a 10 year master plan. (He may have done just that when he started the last medical leave of absence, but not the last day....)

 

[Roessnakhan]

I just saw a video with Steve and i was wondering if it is fake?
http://video.l3.fbcdn.net/cfs-l3-sn...6&l3e=20111021092536&lh=03577fb76ad2895e24020

Of course its fake, that's Steve Jobs at AllThingsD spliced in.

 

[Frobozz]

Aaaagh! This is SO sad and, at the same time, uplighting.

It makes a lot of sense to continue doing what you love right up to the last day. But what strikes me is how you can have any clarity of thought. How can you focus in such a time? All I'd be thinking about is how I'd miss my wife and kid, not the perfect feature set for a cell phone.

----------

"the iPad 3 that will make an appearance before the next iPhone..."

Really? I know this is a rumors site, but I haven't heard anything about launch dates for the next iPad or iPhone, although history seems to indicate that a spring and fall launch, respectively, are probably not bad guesses. (In fact, I've heard even less about the iPad--and, who knows, maybe they'll push it back to summer.)

I just don't think this should be stated so confidently.

The iPad and iPhone are on pretty regular upgrade cycles and you can be all but assured their release schedule will be spread out by roughly 6 months or more. Why show all your cards at once when you can spread it out? The iPad is simply due for an update before the iPhone, evidenced by their previous release dates and expected new feature sets.

I am willing to bet you will see a new iPad 12 to 18 months after the iPad 2, and the iPhone 5 will be out 12 to 18 months after the iPhone 4S.

 

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

I'm sure Jobs as chairman was still very much in charge. The same way Prime Minister Putin probably has heavy power over the Russian president.

 

[Haribokart]

I just saw a video with Steve and i was wondering if it is fake?
http://video.l3.fbcdn.net/cfs-l3-sn...6&l3e=20111021092536&lh=03577fb76ad2895e24020

WTF is this ****? Why would anybody make this ****** fake video? Urgh.

 

[ThanksSteve]

Not surprised at all. Jobs had a special drive that few others matched. It must have been tough for him to balance his work, family, and health. I'm curious if the next product was a new item or an upgrade.

 

[Jovian9]

Pretty sad to be working instead of spending time with your family.

Family should definitely come first.

But to some people, friends and colleagues are just as important as family. Especially those friends you've had for a long time. I'm sure Tim Cook was a pretty important person in Steve's life.