It is pretty apparent that Steve Jobs is a unique mind and sees some things differently than most. His end at Apple will surely come. Who will take his spot? Will the company have the same innovation? My money is on Jonathon Ive for a bunch of reasons. Discuss amongst ya' selves.
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When Steve is gone, who will replace him? Will company fail?
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celticpride678
Guest
NT1440
macrumors P6
Steve has made sure Apple's culture reflects his own. The company operates the way it does because of his guidance but at this point Apple itself just works that way. Just because the figurehead leaves doesn't mean suddenly the company will change its internal ways of doing things.
spinnerlys
Guest
So what are the reasons then? Or is your last sentence meant as indication of you not participating in this "discussion"?
Tim Cook and Phil Schiller are likely candidates, Ive not so much, even though he is granted the honorary rank of a commander.
NT1440
macrumors P6
Rodimus Prime
macrumors G4
I think more when he steps down you do not want to be a holder for a little while. I honestly expect the stocks to take a noise dive when the man leaves. Way WAY to much of apple image is tied to that man and I would not be surprised if to much of the control of apple is under his control.
Apple needs to separate its image from SJ and be more of though of as Apple first. Right now you think Apple you think SJ.
Sorry ti is not that I don't want to participate in the discussion, I just want to hear opinions of others before I give mine. I feel giving my opinion right off the bat may impede discussions of this topic and refer to why I am going to be wrong.
Since you asked, I will tell. While I view Phil Schiller as a very likely candidate, I don't view the likeness of him to Steve Jobs the way I view someone like Jonathon Ive. My perception of him is that he is someone with a vision for technology and what can be done differently that people don't expect. He knows how to execute that vision (obv) and seeing the designs as of late (unibody designs, iPad design, potential iphone design and hardware) he has the vision to change things and innovate in the future. After looking and trying to understand SJ's past and persona, Steve had similar traits and background. Steve was indeed an engineer, but also had the vision and personality that really propelled him into the spotlight. I also think that Ive has that "magical aura" around him similar to that of Steve, stupid as it may sound.
Oh, that and he is balding like Steve.....
Also, to those of you who think that Steve is not thinking about this and planning, I am pretty certain he is. After a close run with death, I am sure Steve has realized that he will not be here forever and time is short/precious. If the company falls into the hands of the same people that ran the company in the 90's, it will probably fail again. I am sure he has not only been eyeballing candidates, but also been "testing" them to a certain degree and even "training" some of them. I am certain he realizes he has a legacy that needs to be very carefully passed on.
Also for the dead horse thing........meh
This is a pretty important subject imo.
Also for the dead horse thing........meh
This is a pretty important subject imo.
Not true as evidenced by the CEOs of the 90's that almost wrecked the company. Steve Jobs is Apple. He leaves and the vision may change. Future iPhone iterations may turn to pure crapware and just be pumped out to exploit the markets. The innovation may change. That's just what iThink though, but don't take my word for it.......reading rainbow.
Kwill
macrumors 68000
JediZenMaster
Suspended
I think apple will be fine. Look at microsoft people thought the same thing about if bill gates took a smaller role in the company. And it's still alive and kicking. IBM did fine after Thomas Watson , HP did fine after bill hewlett and david packard left
With that said i don't think SJ would actually ever retire from apple. Some people work well into their 80's Look at warren buffett for example. So SJ at best if he remains in good health since he is 55 now could probarly stay on in some form till about 2040 or so.
That would be about 40 years or so. Most intellegent people can seperate the man from the company if his mortality kicked in.
With that said i don't think SJ would actually ever retire from apple. Some people work well into their 80's Look at warren buffett for example. So SJ at best if he remains in good health since he is 55 now could probarly stay on in some form till about 2040 or so.
That would be about 40 years or so. Most intellegent people can seperate the man from the company if his mortality kicked in.
Exactly. Let's look at Microsoft for example. It sucked when Gates was there and it still sucks after he left.
While I agree with the perception of the other companies, I think that Apple is a little different in this regards. They are THE innovators of the computing technology industry right now in a lot of respects. You could certainly argue that the competitors are catching up and almost there, it is still Apple that is the leader of the bunch. They created a widespread and usable touch screen device. Before that it was mostly novelty. HTC had the Wing and such products, but had obvious hindering differences. The iPad may not be a new concept necessarily, but its popularity cannot be denied and it DOES innovate in the sense that it is the smoothest, user-friendly tablet device yet. The unibody concept and the idea of a luxury-style laptop that also functioned well was somewhat innovative. HP noticed it certainly and started modeling some of their laptops after the design.
Steve Jobs and the design engineers are the people responsible for that. The other companies created slightly repackaged and slightly improved products imo that offered little in the way of unique creation (some would argue the iPad suffers the same). The innovation is what makes Apple a company of artists (gee how poetic) to an extent as opposed to product manufacturers. I believe they will suffer without a person with the same "artistic spirit" that SJ has.
63dot
macrumors 603
No. He is God and He is the world.
I just needed to correct you. Now back to the cool-aid.
I think Steve Jobs had his biggest impact on Apple when he came back. By the time iPod came out, Apple pretty much became a safe bet to invest on long term.
The company was in trouble and had lost a lot of it's former reputation in the mid-1990s. What needed to be done was to get a few key products (iBook, iMac, OS X) and stick with them. Apple, pre-Steve 1990s, was coming out with too much stuff, and didn't have a consistent corporate image.
Apple is safe whoever takes over at this point.
kdarling
Contributor
I think Apple's other leaders are not as... rigid... as Jobs. Some changes that could happen after Jobs is gone:
1) Opening up to new markets (e.g. Verizon) and cooperation with other companies which Jobs supposedly avoids for personal reasons.
2) More customization allowed.
3) Less control over the App Store.
In other words, Apple will do fine. However, many fans will miss their Jobs' RDF fix.
1) Opening up to new markets (e.g. Verizon) and cooperation with other companies which Jobs supposedly avoids for personal reasons.
2) More customization allowed.
3) Less control over the App Store.
In other words, Apple will do fine. However, many fans will miss their Jobs' RDF fix.
NT1440
macrumors P6
You don't think Steve learned anything when he came back to the company? Apple is steve jobs, it runs the way he wants it to, and the company has essentially been built in his image since his return.
I understand. I think we are kind of on the same page. You think that Apple won't change directions when there is no more SJ? I am a little confused. It seems like you understand that SJ has tailored the company to himself. If that is the case, when he is gone, things will change even if it takes a lot of time. No?
gkarris
macrumors G3
I WILL REPLACE HIM... 😀
First order of business, drop the price of the Mini to $399!
Second, AppleTV with the A4 processor, Bluetooth capable for a mouse and keyboard, and an Apple Gaming controller, and add the AppleTV App store! Drop the price to $199 for the 160 Gig model!
Next, drop the price of the basic MacBook and iMac to $599!
The company will do AWESOME!
😱
First order of business, drop the price of the Mini to $399!
Second, AppleTV with the A4 processor, Bluetooth capable for a mouse and keyboard, and an Apple Gaming controller, and add the AppleTV App store! Drop the price to $199 for the 160 Gig model!
Next, drop the price of the basic MacBook and iMac to $599!
The company will do AWESOME!
😱