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Steve Jobs and the History of Apple Product Development

With Steve Jobs taking a medical leave of absence, it’s worth looking at some of Apple’s most iconic successes and failures to date to get a macro-level look at the effect he’s had on Apple products (and by extension, the company itself) so far.

The Macintosh

Looking back to 1976, the Apple I was the first big success for Apple, though arguably it was also a failure. The company ultimately killed the Apple computer in favor of the Apple Macintosh. Introduced in 1984, the Macintosh popularized the Graphical User Interface, as well as the input device known as the “mouse.” The Macintosh was self-contained, including the display, and easy to set up with few cables, characteristics favored by Jobs and ones that continue to distinguish Apple products to this day.

It’s not surprising then that upon returning to Apple, Jobs oversaw the Mac’s rebirth in 1998. The iMac combined the “excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of the Macintosh.” The iMac cleared away legacy technology, including the (at the time ubiquitous) floppy disk drive, emphasizing networking and getting online “fast and easy.” At $1,199, it was a huge success. In 2000, the iMac accounted for nearly half of all Macs sold. The iMac was one of two products that saved Apple Computer; the other was the iPod.

iPod

“We love music” is one of those quotes that Jobs often repeats, and in the iPod, it really showed. Although not the first hard-drive based media player, the iPod combined great functionality, 5GB of storage and 10 hours of battery life with brilliant industrial design and the click-wheel, all in a case the size of a “deck of cards.” That device, combined first with iTunes, and then with the iTunes Music Store, ultimately established Apple as the leading purveyor of media players and digital music.

Missteps

However, not everything Jobs touched ended up turning to gold, though one did successfully transmute at Apple. NeXT was the company Jobs started after leaving Apple, and while it and its computers ultimately failed, the NeXTSTEP OS did not: We know it today as OS X.

A rare but lasting failure for Apple was the Cube. Introduced in 2000, the Apple Cube was, according to Jobs, “simply the coolest computer ever.” At any rate, the buying public was definitely cool towards it. Less than two years after its launch, an embarrassing press release put the Cube on “ice” permanently.

Another notable Mac failure was the iMac G4. Introduced in 2002, the iMac G4 boasted a revolutionary design that placed an LCD display on an articulating arm, the “sunflower” design, as Jobs described it. “Why have a flat display if you’re going to glom all this stuff on its back?” Two years later, following a reception best described as lukewarm, that’s exactly what Apple did with the iMac G5.

The Tablet Revolution

If it sounded like boasting in 2007 when Steve Jobs said Apple was introducing “a revolutionary product that changes everything,” it sounds like a straightforward declaration of facts in hindsight. Back then, it was thought that we were getting a new phone with multi-touch and a real Internet experience, but four years later, it turns out that what we got was a brand new, robust computing platform. The iPad is the latest innovation in mobile computing from Apple, and if the rush of competitors to offer similar devices is any indication, it could approach even the lofty example set by the iPhone in terms of its effect on the way people use technology in their daily lives.

1984, 2001, 2007, 2010: those are the years that matter, the years of the Macintosh, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, and Steve Jobs was there for every one. Like every other Apple fan, I can’t wait for Jobs to come back and continue the hit parade that just won’t stop.

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The Current Succession Picture at Apple
Earlier, I wrote about how while Steve Jobs’ second medical leave may be unfortunate, it isn’t likely to derail Apple, because the company has a strong executive roster. It’s not exactly clear who would be first in line to fill Jobs’ shoes in the eventuality that a permanent replacement becomes necessary, but a shortage of good candidates is the least of Apple’s worries. Here’s a detailed look at those candidates.

Tim Cook

Cook is Apple’s chief operating officer. He joined the company in 1998, after a brief stint as Compaq’s VP of corporate materials. Before that, he was COO of Intelligent Electronic’s computer resale division, and spent more than a decade at IBM as the director of North American fulfillment. Cook was originally brought on as Apple’s senior VP for worldwide operations, and was promoted to COO in 2007.

At Apple, Cook’s chief accomplishment appears to have been in cleaning up inefficiencies in Apple’s supply chain, which went a long way toward helping the company increase profit margins to the high levels it enjoys today. Cook has stepped in to fill Jobs’ shoes on two previous occasions: first during 2004 when Jobs left for two months to undergo treatment for pancreatic cancer, and then in 2009 during Jobs’ first extended medical leave, when Jobs underwent liver transplant surgery.

Because of Cook’s past success filling in for Jobs, he’s at the top of the list in terms of candidates for the CEO role in the future. He may not have the showmanship of Jobs, but few — if any — corporate leaders do. And he has something no one else worthy of consideration can claim: nearly a decade of experience actually running the company. According to a 2008 profile of Cook by Fortune, the COO has been largely responsible for Apple’s day-to-day operations for years, both during and in between Jobs’ absences.

Phil Schiller

Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller is another likely candidate for promotion at Apple. Schiller’s resumé includes executive positions in marketing at Macromedia and FirePower Systems, Inc., and he’s been incredibly involved with the company Apple since Jobs’ return. Schiller is one of only two Apple executives currently on Twitter.

Schiller also stepped in to fill the void when Jobs left for his first extended medical absence, mostly as the public face of the company during media events. He was the primary presenter at the keynote for the last Macworld attended by Apple in 2009, and for the WWDC keynote in June of the same year. Not everyone thought that Schiller filled the role of spokesperson as well as Jobs does, but then again, who could?

While Schiller has done a great job with Apple’s marketing over the years, he may not have the technical chops to occupy the CEO role and maintain the focus of vision that Jobs brings to the table. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and doesn’t seem to have been heavily involved in the technological side of Apple’s innovations.

Jonathan Ive

Jony Ive, as he’s commonly known, is Apple’s senior VP of industrial design. He’s responsible for the iconic look of Apple’s most successful products, including the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone. Ive began work at Apple in 1992, and secured his current title upon Jobs’ return to the company in 1997. Ive’s work experience prior to joining Apple is limited, but he did work for a short time at London’s Tangerine design agency after graduating from Northumbria University and before moving to the U.S.

It’s hard to understate Ive’s effect on Apple’s product design. He’s received countless awards for his work at Apple, and he’s widely regarded as the person who makes Steve Jobs’ ideas a reality. Some of his work is even exhibited at MoMA . Ive is also the second-youngest on this list at only 43.

If you’ve watched Apple’s promotional videos featuring Ive, you know that aside from Jobs himself, there’s no one at Apple that speaks with such genuine passion and intensity about the products the company creates. Of the people on this list, Ive might be the closest to Jobs in terms of public appeal, though he seems less eager to occupy the spotlight. In fact, Ive might see the CEO role as a distraction from the business of making outrageous and innovative ideas a reality.

Scott Forstall

Apple’s Senior VP in charge of iOS software Scott Forstall was with Jobs at NeXT before the company was acquired by Apple. Forstall was instrumental in creating Mac OS X, and oversaw the introduction of OS X Leopard before being put in charge of Apple’s mobile operating system efforts. Forstall is the second Apple executive with a Twitter account, though he has yet to actually tweet.

Forstall has participated in numerous Apple events, including 2010′s Jan. 27 event introducing the iPad. Forstall also has the technical chops, with two degrees in programming-related fields from Stanford University. He’s also the youngest in this list at 41.

What Ive is for Apple hardware, Forstall appears to be for the software side. And since his role’s focus on iOS mirrors the sea change the company underwent after the success of the iPhone (and later, the iPad), Forstall is in a perfect position at the heart of Apple’s core business (if you don’t think it’s the core yet, check Apple’s last earnings figures). Only his relative inexperience stands out as a point against him, but that might look like a strength to Jobs and other key inside decision makers.

Others

Keen Apple-watchers will note that not all of the company’s executives are profiled above. The rest of that list includes SVP and CFO Peter Oppenheimer, SVP Software Engineering Bertrand Serlet, SVP and General Counsel Bruce Sewell, SVP Retail Ron Johnson, SVP Operations Jeff Williams, and SVP Mac Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield. While it is possible that these people are also under consideration for the top job, I’d argue that they aren’t among the top candidates for consideration. In some cases, their area of expertise is too far from Apple’s current focus, and in others, the individuals in question just don’t have the personality or presence to occupy the role.

Apple could also go outside the company to fill the CEO role, but it won’t if Steve Jobs has anything to say about who his successor will be. The corporate culture at Apple is too important to the products it creates to allow for handing the keys over to an outsider. And of course, it’s possible that Jobs may resume the top job after this leave, but if not, Apple’s bench is deep. No one can replace Jobs’ role in the company, but there are plenty who could take on his job.

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Apple Is No Trainwreck Without Jobs
It isn’t the first time the question’s been asked, but now that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is taking a second leave of absence for health-related reasons, it’s impossible not to wonder: Can Apple continue to be successful without its visionary leader?

That the question is even asked at all is a testament to Jobs. Since his return to Apple in 1996, the 55-year old co-founder of the company has led it with a sense of purpose and focus of direction rarely seen among multi-billion dollar, publicly held corporations. Under Jobs, the iPod became for MP3 players what Kleenex is for facial tissue; the iPhone started a consumer rush on what was once a market relegated mostly to business users; and the iPad beat all expectations and single-handedly brought tablet computing mainstream. It’s Jobs’ extreme degree of control that accounts for much of Apple’s success, but might it not also lead, ultimately, to failure?

The problem with extreme authority is that once it’s removed, chaos often ensues. Even if someone else steps up to fill the power vacuum, that person won’t be Steve Jobs, no matter what other qualifications he or she brings to the table. And without Steve Jobs, in the minds of loyal followers, the general public, stockholders, and maybe even Apple employees, Apple just isn’t Apple.

At least, it isn’t the Apple we now know. But does it necessarily follow that an Apple without Jobs will be a failure? That’s a much more extreme claim, and one that ignores a number of very important factors. The first is history. Remember that we’ve been here before; from January to June of 2009, Jobs took his first medical leave, which turned out to be for a liver transplant. During that time, Apple COO Tim Cook stepped in as interim CEO. After an initial dip following the announcement of Jobs’ leave (like the one we’re seeing today, as Mathew reports), Apple stock prices rose steadily during that time, peaking at around $145 at end of Cook’s tenure, even amid rampant speculation that Jobs’ absence may become permanent. Apple was so impressed with Cook’s performance that the company gave him a $22 million bonus.

Cook isn’t exactly the only luminary in Apple’s talent pool, either. There’s top product designer Jonathan Ive, whose signature look has made Apple products the go-to gadgets for the fashion conscious and image-obsessed. And there’s Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller, who came to Apple with Steve upon his return, and who has played a significant role in past company presentations. Schiller is now also arguably Apple’s most prominent social media presence through his Twitter account.

None of these potential successors have the celebrity status that Steve Jobs enjoys, but there’s no reason they should as of yet, since that role’s been more than adequately filled by Jobs himself until now. And while a celebrity CEO has been a major boon for Apple in the past, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the company will flounder without one. To suggest so is to ignore the hard work and resourcefulness of the Apple employees that turn Jobs’ vision into a reality. In fact, according to some Apple employees who spoke to us, you often have to work around Jobs subtly on issues where he’s very clearly in the wrong. Having a more reticent corporate leadership could allow dissenting opinions to surface, leading to products that would otherwise come to market late or not at all (a 7-inch iPad, for instance).

While Jobs’ current leave comes as a surprise to us in the media, there’s little chance it was something Apple isn’t prepared for as a company. Steve Jobs may be largely responsible for Apple’s success, but he won’t also be responsible for its failure. That has, and always will be dependent on the quality of the products it creates, and on the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the thousands of employees that work every day to make those products a reality.

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MobileMe 101: How to Set Up Back to My Mac
Keeping your documents in the cloud sounds good at first, until you start to realize you’ve accumulated several terabytes of files over the years. Most online storage plans are more expensive in terms of cost per gigabyte than internal or external drives in an at-home configuration. If you have MobileMe, however, you can access your home Mac (and all attached storage and installed apps) from wherever you happen to be. Here’s how.

Setting up the Router

Probably the most important step is configuring your router. The router must support NAT Port Mapping Protocol (NAT-PMP) or Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). Using Apple’s AirPort routers, the configuration is straightforward:
1. Launch the AirPort Utility and click on Manual Setup.
2. Click on the Internet icon.
3. Make sure Share a public IP address is selected under Connection Sharing in the Internet Connection tab.
4. Under the NAT tab, check the Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol checkbox.
5. Update to apply the changes you made.
Setting up a Shared Drive

Another great feature of the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule solutions is that they both support hosting connected drives over MobileMe. This would include access to several external drives connected via a USB hub. This is a great solution if you don’t have multiple Macs, but do have home storage that you connect to when you are at home. Keep in mind that these instructions apply to Apple AirPort routers only:
1. Launch the AirPort Utility and click on Manual Setup.
2. Click on the Advanced icon and select the MobileMe tab.
3. Enter your MobileMe credentials.
4. Update to apply the changes you made.
Setting up the Host Mac (or Macs)

On the Macs you want to be able to access while you’re away, you’ll need to enable Back to My Mac using the following steps:
1. From System Preferences, under Internet and Wireless, select MobileMe.
2. On the Account tab, click on the Sign In button and enter your MobileMe credentials.
3. Once signed in, choose the Back to My Mac tab, click on the Turn On Back to My Mac button.
4. Then from System Preferences under Internet and Wireless, select Sharing.
5. Turn on Screen and/or File Sharing.
For security purposes, it’s important to limit the users who can access these features. Keep in mind this may also limit what files are accessible remotely. There’s also a Wake for network access feature configurable in the Energy Saver preferences if you’d rather your computer not be running constantly.

Accessing Your Mac Remotely

Now you can log on to and access any files on your Mac and attached drives from anywhere. All you need to do is the following on the remote Mac you’re accessing your home machine(s) from:
1. From System Preferences, under Internet and Wireless, select MobileMe
2. On the Account tab, click on the Sign In button and enter your MobileMe credentials
3. On the Back to My Mac tab, click on the Turn On Back to My Mac button
From here, you use the finder to connect to your remote Mac. Under the Shared section in the far left panel of your Finder, you should see the host name of your Mac, and the name of any Airport Extreme or Time Capsule for which you’ve enabled MobileMe access. If the computer you’re accessing from isn’t yours, remember to sign out of your MobileMe account under System Preferences when you’re through.

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Steve Jobs to Take Second Medical Leave of Absence
Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be taking a medical leave of absence from the company to focus on his health, though he will continue on as CEO and still be involved in “major strategic decisions.” In an email to employees released by Apple, Jobs explains that he requested and was granted the absence by the company’s board of directors.

This is the email from Steve Jobs, which was released by Apple in its entirety as a press release:

Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

This isn’t the first time Jobs has had to step away from the company due to health concerns. On Jan. 14 2009, Jobs stepped down as CEO temporarily, also citing health issues. The news also came in the form of a personal email from Jobs to Apple employees. This second leave comes almost exactly two years after the first. At the beginning of that earlier leave, Jobs anticipated a summer return to the company. This time, his plans seem much less definite.

It was later revealed that Jobs left to have a liver transplant in April of 2009. Critics argued that by keeping the specifics of his health issues hidden, he was hiding material information from investors and damaging the company. Stock prices initially suffered following the news of Jobs’ first absence, and the same can probably be expected this time around. Stock values are already down in European trading.

While this is most definitely bad news for the Apple CEO, we wish him a speedy recovery.

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