iDead

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So apparently Steve Jobs passed on just right after Iphone 4S was released. It was so surprising that I almost thought it was a prank by Apple or a marketing stunt to increase the demand for 4S.

As incredible as his life was, unfortunately, I do believe that his legacy will outlive him. It is a bit disturbing to see people commenting that the innovations of Apple will fall together with Jobs but this may not necessarily be the case. Perhaps other companies will see the chance for them to finally catch up with Apple in terms of their product offers but a few things one has to bear in mind. Firstly, Steve Jobs did not operate in vacuum although one can see the influence of his ideas and visions in Apple. Yet companies like Sony and Microsoft have and will continue to outlive their founders to push the boundaries of innovation. Such historical precedents show me that it is not impossible for Apple to die off with Steve Jobs. Of course, keeping my fingers crossed, I am hoping that the spirit of innovation is really part of the DNA within Apple.

Secondly, I read it somewhere, but Apple usually looks at its production line in long term, so it is unlikely that iPhone 5 will ultimately die off with Steve Jobs. In fact, I would think that the demise of Jobs should lead to a greater degree of product innovation within Apple, given the fact that Jobs had kept a tight reign over the design of Apple products. Perhaps, finally, we will be able to see more jailbreak functions available in future iteration of iPhones, and better user interface in future versions of Mac OSX? Perhaps finally we may even be able to start customise our experience of the iOS? Perhaps, finally, we will be able to see lighter, slimmer and more powerful iPad or iPhone?

Thirdly, one will have to admit that while Steve Jobs has the vision, he may not necessarily be the innovative one. The avid and more careful historians of Steve Jobs and Apple will tell you Steve Jobs merely saw the potential of the products rather than inventing them, or rather he discovered them accidentally. It's the same story for iPod, Pixar, Macintosh etc. Yet his hunch for the mixture of art and science in his products was admirable. Creativity and innovation are not exclusive to one person and given Apple's reputation being built up by Jobs, it is possible for Apple to start attracting people of creative calibre.

My point is that as great as Steve Jobs was in his life, his death may well be the beginning and not the end for Apple. People are sad but when emotions fade away, we will see that the legacy left by him in Apple may well be a long lasting one, hopefully for a long time before Orange and Durian emerge to challenge their position.

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