11 ms·

Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

1667 points by taylorbuley 15y ago

Egregore 15y ago
I don't like the closedness of iPhone and iPads, I prefer the more open platforms, like Android. But I deeply regret Steve Jobs leaving, he is a visionary, he did a lot of things for which he has my respect.
kellishaver 15y ago
Though I believe the company will be fine, this kind of feels like the end of an era. It's sad, as well, because it sounds very much like his reasons for stepping down are health-related, which can't be good. He's survived and built amazing things in the face of great illness, when a lot of people would have given up. Sure, he had more financial resources than most to put into that battle against cancer, but a large part of it still comes down to determination and will. It would have been easy, several years ago, to say "I'm too tired to do this anymore" when you've fought cancer and don't need the paycheck. Someone like that doesn't step away from something they love unless they feel they absolutely have to. I just hope Steve and his family are given the respect and privacy they will no doubt need and desire in the weeks and months ahead.
kooshball 15y ago
Wow. Even though everyone saw this one coming, I dont think anyone expected it to happen so soon. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts tomorrow, I imagine it wont be pretty. As the COO, Cook did great job lining up and executing the production line. Most of the creative work should already be in the pipeline for the 2012, 2013 releases. We'll see what happens after then.
- technoslut 15y ago
  Apple will probably be fine for the next decade. The main concern is if Apple can continue to create disruptive products. From Jobs' own mouth, it was his idea for the iPad a decade ago and from that sprung the iPhone.
  - dkrich 15y ago
    The great thing about Apple is that it doen't create disruptive products, but invents new markets altogether.
    - spydez 15y ago
      Smart phones existed before the iPhone; Apple/Jobs just made them orders of magnitude better. Tablets have existed before the iPad; Apple/Jobs just made the first one the market fell in love with. What new markets have they created? Now, don't get me wrong... I love Apple. I have a Mac and an iPhone and Cinema displays. I'm jealous of my friends with iPads. Etc. I just don't see any brand new markets.
      - dkrich 15y ago
        How about iTunes? The App store? The iPad? I can go build some shit product and ship it first, but without a reliable customer base, there is no market. So yes, I think it is fair to say Apple has created new markets. Prior to 2007 the Motorola Razr was the most popular phone on the market. Enough said.
        dolphenstein 15y ago
        There was an existing market for MP3 players, smart phones and tablet PC's. Apple didn't create them. It expanded them and introduced the products to the masses.
        dkrich 15y ago
        "It expanded them and introduced the products to the masses." And how is this not creating new markets? I think you are confusing markets with ideas. IBM wasn't the first to come up with the idea of the computer, but it certainly created new markets for it. Absent actually producing the product that is sold in the market, an idea (or a poorly implemented version of it) isn't much good.
- johnx123-up 15y ago
  Not to be pessimistic... but skeptical on this MBA guy
deleted 15y ago
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untog 15y ago
Wow. I very much hope that this not for illness reasons, and instead he simply decided that now was the time to make the changeover.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
swombat 15y ago
It makes perfect sense as part of the succession planning for Apple. This way, when Steve (very sadly) resigns "permanently" from any and all jobs, it will just be business as usual and not take down the Apple stock by 30% or something equally ridiculous. Still, quite a shock.
- rhygar 15y ago
  AAPL is still going to tank.
  - swombat 15y ago
    Not for very long. There's no real reason for it to do so. This was entirely predictable. Sure, a bunch of people are going to short, but they'll be sorry they did.
    - mikeleeorg 15y ago
      I truly, sincerely hope you're right. I've always seen Jobs as a visionary leader, but I'm uncertain he's been similarly effective at grooming a leadership team (or individual) with the same vision. Cult of personality and all that. Part of Apple's success, IMHO, has been Jobs' ability to cut through bureaucracy, egos, corporate politics and industry politics to execute on a pristine vision. Perhaps it's my lack of faith in middle managers, but unless there is a clear mandate from leadership, details & priorities can morph down the chain of command. Visionary products can be diluted by others making what seem like perfectly sound trade-offs. It's the minimization of that dilution, setting of crystal-clear priorities, and making the hard trade-off decisions that has made Jobs such an effective leader at Apple. That, and his ability to look several steps ahead of an industry - and arguably to create new industries - that has given rise to so many of Apple's disruptive innovations. Without him, I have a bad feeling Apple will become better at creating sustaining innovations than disruptive ones. Of course, I don't work there and perhaps there are many others who can make such tough decisions and dream up industry-changing visions. I sincerely hope so. For the growth of the company, I sincerely hope so.
  - krishna2 15y ago
kaiuhl 15y ago
Huge news. One can expect an overwhelming wave of punditry about this move, but it'll be interesting to read their official press release and what his role will be moving forward. Surely he'll still be the arbiter of taste until he's dead?
AdamTReineke 15y ago
John Gruber wrote that Steve Cook should succeed him last month. http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs Edit: Yup, I meant Tim Cook... Doh!
- krishna2 15y ago
  I assume you meant "Tim Cook" (the COO).
- puredemo 15y ago
  You mean Tim Cook.
- loganlinn 15y ago
  > John Gruber wrote that Steve Cook should succeed him last month. http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs You mean, Tim Cook. Freudian slip, I understand.
- thesteamboat 15y ago
  Perhaps you mean Tim Cook? Steve Cook is the famous computer scientist who proved that SAT is NP-Complete.
breckinloggins 15y ago
It pains me to admit it, but I'm relatively relieved. Sure, the stock price will take a beating, but I have to believe that Apple, the company, will remain strong under Tim Cook's leadership. Why am I relieved? Because, although AAPL is still quite high, I think that investors have been weary of the stock due to the uncertainty of Jobs' health and future. Make no mistake, we'll have a roller coaster for quite a while, but I strongly suspect that the next few product cycles will demonstrate that Apple is still a game-changer even in a world where Jobs is not at the helm. That being said, I'll miss him. He's a true visionary and such high-profile leaders only come along once in a great while.
- ajross 15y ago
  I have to insert one mild troll here: you seem to be writing in the voice of an Apple investor, yet from context you seem more like a user or developer. Why is the value of AAPL a universal good? Seems like it's quite high enough already.
  - breckinloggins 15y ago
    Not a troll... a good question. The answer is I am all of those. The high value of AAPL is not a common good (although it's obviously good for me), but I was referring more to the constant fear in the markets of the eminent instability of the stock. There are many who believe that Apple IS Steve Jobs. I disagree, but it will be nice to see them come out of his shadow. And Apple will be a much easier stock to judge from an investment standpoint when that happens.
    - mtgentry 15y ago
      Hmm can you expand on why you think Apple isn't Steve? There are surely many great people at Apple. But Steve maintained an unwavering, fanatical commitment to product. That's the secret sauce. With him gone how will that continue? With a company that size, surely politics and other bullshit will eventually creep in and win out in arguments over product.
pkamb 15y ago
I wonder how long http://www.apple.com/pr/ http://www.apple.com/pr/ will take to update for this.
- alanfalcon 15y ago
  Apparently about 20 minutes. Steve's letter is on the site now.
  - pkamb 15y ago
    I wonder how that delay reflects on the Apple org chart. Do the people behind /pr/ have advance notice of big announcements? Does Steve send his letter to them at the same time he sends it the Wall Street Journal?
    - philwelch 15y ago
      I'm pretty sure Apple's PR department is in charge of sending Steve's letter to the Wall Street Journal.
      - pkamb 15y ago
        Probably. It just kind of reminded me of that thing where the original iPhone hardware people supposedly had no idea what the software would look like, and vice versa.
- mrb 15y ago
  It's updated. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-Jobs.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-...
armandososa 15y ago
I don't know why, but I feel a little sad right now. Like being witness to the end of an era.
- Bud 15y ago
  You're sad because you are sensing that there's no replacement for The Steve, either inside Apple or outside. And you're right.
  - wickedchicken 15y ago
    Leaving a void for the next generation to fill. I'm looking forward to it.
    - mikeleeorg 15y ago
      Every farewell is an opportunity for a new hello.
      - charlieflowers 15y ago
        I'm sad too. He is a once-an-epoch leader. Think what the world would be like without him. Amazing that a business leader can be so important and foundational to the world.
        grammaton 15y ago
        This is getting to be a bit much....he was an impressive CEO. Important and foundational to the world.
    - rokhayakebe 15y ago
      Now that is a winner's attitude.
- vynch 15y ago
  I am very very saddened too!...i wonder if we will see another such great artist and visionary in our lifetimes!
johng 15y ago
What a roller coaster Steve Jobs' life (and his stewardship of Apple) has been. But, all in all, great job. Amazing job. Cheers to Steve.
deleted 15y ago
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shoota 15y ago
Time to short AAPL.
- krishna2 15y ago
  Hmm..the time to do that would've been earlier today (before trading closed). If you do tomorrow, the pre-trading hours, the floor traders (and options traders and hence probably the institutional clients) would've an advantage of half-an-hour before us retail investors. So the opening price itself will be low enough. From then on, it would just be the crowd/herd movement. As Buffet said, "the stock market is a popularity voting contest in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term".
  - swah 15y ago
    Do you recommend reading "The intelligent investor"?
    - krishna2 15y ago
      Very highly.
  - hugh3 15y ago
    As Buffet said, "the stock market is a popularity voting contest in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term". I like that quote. I'm going to eat it.
corin_ 15y ago
Remember that just because the market is closed, things still happen, and you can keep an eye on the after hours price. Edit: as pointed out below, after/pre-hoursm
- krishna2 15y ago
  After hours trading is over too. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl The best indicator will probably be pre-trading-hours tomorrow.
  - krishna2 15y ago
    I am wrong. It is still trading after-hours. It's down about 6%. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
JacobAldridge 15y ago
I'm preparing a presentation for the HN Meetup in London tomorrow and I used Apple as a 'forthcoming' example of Succession and its impact on equity/ share value. Guess I better reword that bit now, and again when the markets open tomorrow.
- eyko 15y ago
  There's a HN meetup in London today?
  - ZeroMinx 15y ago
    Yup, http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/events/29224501/ http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/events/29224501/
anatoly 15y ago
It's difficult to imagine this could be for any reason other than his illness, but I'd like to hope against hope.
- 51Cards 15y ago
  Agreed, in fact I suspect that the 'chairman' position may also just be something to keep the stock from nose-diving and that it may not last long. I just have a feeling that Jobs wouldn't step back until he really really had to, and that it may be a sign of things being worse than he will let on right now.
Bud 15y ago
Steve will now be Chairman of the Board, to answer some questions from other comments. It's hard to see how this does not at least hint at some more bad health news, although I too hope that it does not mean this. Here's Steve's letter to the Board: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Letter-from-Steve-bw-2200607574.html?x=0&.v=1 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Letter-from-Steve-bw-220060757...
- TomOfTTB 15y ago
  How so? He was already on leave. Being on leave doesn't put a big strain on your health because you're not having to go in to the office. So how would health issues force him to step down? I guess maybe if he was so sick he physically couldn't go into the office but he's remaining chairman so that can't be the case.
  - philwelch 15y ago
    The difference between going on leave and resigning is that it's expected that you will come back from leave. Sometimes health problems have a chance of getting better, and sometimes that chance goes away.
cpr 15y ago
Truly the end of an epoch in computing, assuming his influence fades quickly in a much reduced role at Apple.
puredemo 15y ago
This article is pretty vague on the details of 'why' he resigned. Does anyone have more information? All the best to Steve and his family..
- AgentConundrum 15y ago
  To put it bluntly, he's dying. His health hasn't been good in a while[1], and he's probably resigning to a) spend time with family before he goes, and b) to limit the damage to the company when he does. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Health_concerns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Health_concerns
  - puredemo 15y ago
    It's still pretty vague. He had the surgery to remove the tumor. Then an unknown hormone problem? They a liver transplant? What is he dying from exactly? Does anyone know?
    - lwat 15y ago
      That's private. It doesn't really concern us. All we need to know is that his health issues are taking their toll and he recognizes that.
      - puredemo 15y ago
        Neuroendocrine Tumor/Islet Cell Carcinoma
    - RuadhanMc 15y ago
      It's vague cause that's the way he wants it.
thought_alarm 15y ago
I was really hoping that such succession news would be delivered by the man himself, if and when it happened. But I presume that's not going to happen. All the best to Steve and his family.
dmerfield 15y ago
Apple just confirmed Cook will replace Jobs as CEO.
- puredemo 15y ago
  Well, yeah, it's in the article.
  - dmerfield 15y ago
    "I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple" != "Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple"
    - puredemo 15y ago
      Indeed, I should have said it was strongly insinuated in the article.
alanfalcon 15y ago
"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you." From the WSJ blog: http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-as-apple-ceo/ http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-as-... EDIT: Now posted on Apple.com: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-Jobs.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-...
- ristretto 15y ago
  This hints it's probably about health reasons, which is the saddest part.
  - Macha 15y ago
    Hinting is rather unnecessary. Why else would he leave?
    - ristretto 15y ago
      I 'd prefer that he would leave to "build a new pixar" or sth.
    - TomOfTTB 15y ago
      Because he's 56 years old and wants to start living a well deserved retirement? He's already on leave. So it isn't like there's a great strain on his health now. I would think no more than there will be when he remains on as chairman of the board. Which is the real point. If health were forcing him to step down he wouldn't be staying on as Chairman. There are significant duties to being Chairman of the Board. You have to appear in public, you have to go to official functions, and so on. You can't hide a serious illness and still be chairman of the board. Mark my words: This is all about Tim Cook (Which, if I might toot my own horn, I predicted here: http://tomstechblog.com/post/Ie28099m-Not-Sure-Steve-Jobs-Is-All-That-Sicke280a6But-That-Might-Mean-He-Isne28099t-Fully-Coming-Back.aspx http://tomstechblog.com/post/Ie28099m-Not-Sure-Steve-Jobs-Is...)
iand 15y ago
End of an era definitely. No-one can deny that Jobs has had one of the the most successful turnaround careers ever.
nhangen 15y ago
I'm sad about this in the same way I'm bummed when a great athlete retires. We've witness one of the greatest turnarounds in history, and though I'm confident that Apple will remain strong, it sucks to see this happen. That said, when the market dips, buy, buy, buy.
- mkramlich 15y ago
  I generally agree on buying when there's a dip. Except if the dip is due to a drop in the fundamental ability of said company to execute. A reasonable person could bet that while there may be no near/medium term ability in their ability to execute, that there will be a medium/long term drop. That old saw about A picks A, B picks C, C picks D, etc. There will likely be a decay.
jianshen 15y ago
As sad as this is, I really am looking forward to see how the company evolves the culture that he's created.
yesbabyyes 15y ago
It's wise to do this now, in a controlled manner. All the same, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with Apple in the long run.
dpio 15y ago
Clearly, he was just as bummed about webOS as everyone else.
craigmccaskill 15y ago
I wonder if this has been timed specifically prior to a major product release (iPhone 5) to help combat any stock drop.
dm8 15y ago
One of the most iconic leader of our times. I will miss his keynotes. They were simply joy to watch. The famous advert "Here's to the crazy ones..misfits.." totally applies to his career. I'm sure if AAPL ever recreates the same ad, he deserves his spot in there.
jacquesm 15y ago
deleted, since: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2922792 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2922792 said roughly the same thing and 6 minutes earlier.
- tghw 15y ago
  Considering that was their declared succession plan, it'd be hard for him to miss.
  - Anechoic 15y ago
    IIRC, Apple never declared a succession plan. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/25/us-apple-vote-idUSTRE71M5FL20110225 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/25/us-apple-vote-idUS...
- nkassis 15y ago
  Everyone already knew it was most likely going to be Tim Cook. He's been pegged the successor for a few years at the very least.
- ristretto 15y ago
  You mean for WSJ. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303661904576455863730268934.html?mod=djemalertTECH http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230366190457645...
- talbina 15y ago
  It's not Gruber who predicted this. Every single journalist, analyst, and Apple fan boy predicted the same.
  - SoftwareMaven 15y ago
    Not every one (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2134181 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2134181 ). I hope all goes well for Steve.
    - 15y ago
arnoldwh 15y ago
Sad day..I think I must have watched his stanford commencement speech at least a dozen times. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=youtube_gdata_player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=youtu...
- dporan 15y ago
  This announcement only makes more poignant what he said in that speech: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
  - spking 15y ago
    Thank you for reminding me of this quote. Truly epic. http://spking.com/steve/ http://spking.com/steve/
  - CamperBob 15y ago
    "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart..." "... and go out right after launching a bunch of bullshit patent suits."
typicalrunt 15y ago
Wow there are 9 duplicate stories on HN right now. Doesn't HN have a duplicate submission filter?
- thematt 15y ago
  That's what upvoting is for. Let the people decide what is most interesting.
  - typicalrunt 15y ago
    Why downvote my question? It's a valid attempt to understand how HN filters duplicate stories. The dupes are also representative of the Internet at large. When a large story breaks, tonnes of people rush out to be "the one" who broke it on their news site.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
jmjerlecki 15y ago
The Edison of our generation. Sad to see Jobs go and hopefully his health has not gotten worse. The greatest turnaround of a company ever – Steve will leave a long legacy.
- typicalrunt 15y ago
  Edison? Please...that's a bit much. Edison personally created the majority of his inventions. Jobs has an entire company/team behind him. And Jonathan Ives is a big help when it comes to the sleek design of Apple products.
  - marquis 15y ago
    Perhaps not Edison - I expect he'll be known soon for his own way of doing things. If you've ever run a technology (or any, I suppose) company it's extremely hard to ship useful AND beautiful AND working products and beyond that offer incredible support. I admire Jobs for his vision and his passion at making it happen and he's been an inspiration to me.
  - teyc 15y ago
    I don't believe he did. Edison ran a sizeable R&D lab. Look up Menlo Park.
  - buff-a 15y ago
    Edison personally created the majority of his inventions. Citation needed. From what I know of Edison he was skilled at teamwork, business and PR. Which would make him more like Jobs.
    - Knack 15y ago
      Citiation needed
  - artursapek 15y ago
    Edison actually took credit for many inventions created by people who worked for him.
MetallicCloud 15y ago
>Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world... Not exactly objective reporting is it?
- funksta 15y ago
  It's a press release. The paragraph in question appears to be in all of Apple's releases.
padmanabhan01 15y ago
This is the first time I have personally felt sad when a CEO has quit his company.
- whatrocks 15y ago
  I can't think of any other public company CEO departure that would even come close to this feeling.
- redorb 15y ago
  I will be sad when Mr. Page and Brin retire as well.
  - jamesbkel 15y ago
    true, but hopefully that will be under better circumstances.
- cabinguy 15y ago
  Me too. I am not a big apple fan (I stay away from most of their products for reasons I will not go into here), but this marks the end of an era.
stevenj 15y ago
Thanks for all you've done, Steve.
taylorbuley 15y ago
Tim Cook has reportedly been given the nod, but I'm still sort of hoping that somewhere Zuck is updating his resume
- kreek 15y ago
  Nice one centurion. Like it. Like it.
jjm 15y ago
Believe it or not, things can still happen for the better. This change could continue the trend of success through new ideas. Had this not happened I would have said that the peak if the product lifecycle was upon Apple anyway. Hope this makes sense, typin on train from iPhone.
staunch 15y ago
A sad day. Fortunately, he'll continue to inspire the world of technology and entrepreneurs for decades to come. Thanks Steve!
AlexMuir 15y ago
And the greatest second act in (business) history draws to a close. He's changed the world. And he made Apple the most valuable company in the world. That's quite some achievement for a terminally ill man.
- grammaton 15y ago
  “The problem is I’m older now, I’m 40 years old, and this stuff doesn’t change the world. It really doesn’t. I’m sorry, it’s true. Having children really changes your view on these things. We’re born, we live for a brief instant, and we die. It’s been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much — if at all." --Steve Jobs
  - AlexMuir 15y ago
    In the sense that the building blocks of the world are the same, yes. But it's changed my world - I haven't lost anyone's phone number for years. I take pictures of things. I go running more. I interact with distant friends. And I type faster than ever. I have access to the vast amounts of information in my pocket any time. That's amazing. And my 83 year old neighbour understands that she can touch things to see more information about them. That's amazing.
Jun8 15y ago
Oh no!! This means his illness is now quite severe. There can be no replacement to him. A lot of people say it's hard working for him (my friends at Apple totally dread meeting him by accident), he's egotistical, parks at a handicapped spot, etc. etc. To those people, I give the following, attributed to Judy Garland: ""They say it's hard to work with Judy Garland...do you have any idea how hard it is to BE Judy Garland?" Indeed!
- CamperBob 15y ago
  A lot of people say it's hard working for him (my friends at Apple totally dread meeting him by accident), he's egotistical, parks at a handicapped spot If pancreatic cancer doesn't get you a handicapped spot, I'd sure hate to have what it does take...
  - slowpoke 15y ago
    Sorry, but what? A handicapped spot is for people who, for example, have difficulties walking, or need space to leave the car (wheelchairs). In what way exactly does pancreatic cancer prevents one from using a regular parking spot? Besides which, cancer is an illness. Not a handicap. It's fine if you like Steve Jobs or whatever - I agree he was, in some aspects, an important person (though not in positive sense, but that's just my humble opinion). But this pathological apologizing of his faults is plain and simply ridiculous.
    - thebooktocome 15y ago
      From http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr07.htm http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr07.htm : "You may qualify for a DPplacard or DPplates if you have impaired mobility due to having lost use of one or more lower extremities, or both hands, or have a diagnosed disease that substantially impairs or interferes with mobility, or one who is severely disabled to be unable to move without the aid of an assistive devise." So yes, illnesses can cause one to become disabled.
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leon_ 15y ago
I hope Apple will survive this. I don't want to develop for windows.
- nkassis 15y ago
  I have no fear for apple's survival at least in the near 5+ years. Things will change but the talent that builds the products is still there. The coders, the designers ... all that needs to happen is for the culture created by Jobs to stick. As for developing on Windows, there's Linux. It's good stuff too.
- SandB0x 15y ago
  This is ridiculous. Do you honestly think the company will fall to pieces because there's a new CEO, one who has been at the company since 1998 and has worked closely with Steve Jobs? Is Apple's success entirely down to Jobs? What about all the talented engineers and designers who actually design the products and software?
  - leon_ 15y ago
    > What about all the talented engineers and designers who actually design the products and software? What about all the talented engineers and designers at Microsoft, HP and co? Without a strong lead talent is worthless. (Either that or Apple has a monopoly for smart people and other companies hire only idiots?)
    - josephcooney 15y ago
      Agree. Look at how Microsoft performed while Bill Gates was CEO, and after. Although I don't rate Bill G as nearly as much of a visionary as Steve, leadership and vision of technical companies matter.
  - gnaritas 15y ago
    You do recall what happened to Apple the last time Jobs left? I think Apple will be fine, but those doubting do have a valid case to make.
tiles 15y ago
I wonder if there was maybe some foresight in him having an official biography approved shortly before he stepped down as CEO.
losvedir 15y ago
Aww, I was kind of hoping Steve Jobs would do something insanely huge and visionary (in the way that only he can, it seems) with that massive stockpile of cash Apple has. Looks like it'll come out in dividends or some such run of the mill fashion.
rhygar 15y ago
This is about timing. AAPL became the most valuable company in the world recently. The best way to quit is when you're on top.
- hugh3 15y ago
  No, the best way to quit is when you're not dying.
  - rhygar 15y ago
    /rimshot
RealGeek 15y ago
I hope Steve would still show up at WWDC :)
plainOldText 15y ago
When I first read the title I thought it was a joke. I was thinking how can a joke be voted number 1 on HN. Reading through the other titles however made it real. Well, I guess nothing lasts forever, and following Bill Gates, it is now Steve Jobs' time to step down as the CEO. The other week I was imagining how would Steve Jobs' office look like in the new headquarters they are planning to build. I guess that doesn't hold anymore. Well, we'll just move on.
miratom 15y ago
Great unbiased journalism: "Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software."
- nopal 15y ago
  It's a press release, see the top: "Press Release Source: Apple On Wednesday August 24, 2011, 6:35 pm"
- chaz 15y ago
  That's not journalism -- that's straight from Apple's press release, which is the whole article.
danilocampos 15y ago
Apple's going to be fine. Steve's most extraordinary work isn't the Mac, the iPhone or the iPad. It's rebuilding Apple in his image. It was creating organizational culture and habits that mimic his weird brain, like their aggressive software prototyping to prove that things work well and feel good. Fuck, I'll miss him, though. I'll miss the way he got up there each and every time like he was selling you your own personal Jesus in a box. Not out of hucksterism, but because he really was that excited to share what he and his people had been working on. Excited to do things better. Excited to solve problems in a way that was far more tasteful, more satisfying, than anything anyone had bothered to try before. Maybe he'll still do announcements as his health allows – but maybe that would send a weird message. He's a man who was lucky enough to find out exactly what he did best – and to seize upon it with every cell in his body. I'm a better person for his example. The resurrection of Apple was one of the most enjoyable things I followed in my childhood. No matter how you feel about his approach, this is a guy who loves his work with an intensity that couldn't be faked and won't be soon matched.
- TomOfTTB 15y ago
  For the record this doesn't necessarily mean he will stop giving presentations. Gates continued to do his Comdex speech after stepping down as CEO (and remaining as Chairman)
  - danilocampos 15y ago
    The last WWDC kind of makes me skeptical on this. He let his lieutenants do almost all of the segments he'd normally take on himself. He needs to send a message that Apple's got this – they can do it on their own. Still, as long as he can stand and talk, I have a hard time believing he'd miss a product launch.
    - biot 15y ago
      I'd wager that he won't be presenting the next one, but he will come out at the last minute and present the "one more thing".
  - 15y ago
leeskye 15y ago
San Franciscans are probably wandering the streets wondering if they're going to get their iPhone5 before Christmas.
meterplech 15y ago
Can people stop talking about the effect of the stock? I get it- many of us own AAPL. This is one of the greatest entrepreneurs and CEOs ever stepping down. Let's focus on that.
benkulbertis 15y ago
Good. (Downvotes please)
brianwillis 15y ago
It's really hard to know what to say. Jobs' resignation definitely marks the end of an era, and implies that his health is getting worse, but we all knew that this day was going to come eventually.
mathattack 15y ago
I have to admit I feel like his letter was more like Lou Gehrig than Michael Jordan. I wish him the absolute best.
ricw 15y ago
Nothing has changed in the short term, though lets hope that in the long term his successors can keep innovating as much as Apple has under Jobs. Most importantly though, I hope that Steve recovers soon from whatever might be ailing him. Somewhat sad times..
arjn 15y ago
The end of an era for Apple. However, this is hardly unexpected. He has been very ill for a while now. Time for him to focus on himself and his family.
teyc 15y ago
The biggest thing Jobs brought to the computing industry is humanity. The understanding that in the end, humans come first. The second thing is he taught that you don't have to check every box in order to be successful. He stripped computing back to its roots in science fiction, and built devices that were originally imagined, taking away feature after feature until something is understood.
gamache 15y ago
And Tim Cook is his successor, it's confirmed: > Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple > Tim Cook Named CEO and Jobs Elected Chairman of the Board > CUPERTINO, California—August 24, 2011—Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Steve-Jobs-Resigns-as-CEO-of-Apple.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Steve-Jobs-Resigns...
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
ESPNbruddah 15y ago
Who is Steve Jobs?
AlexMuir 15y ago
Many of us on HN aspire to the success that Steve's had. We'd love to be him, to build something amazing like Apple. But I bet he'd give anything to have the good health and indeterminate life expectancy that we have tonight. I'll go to sleep thinking how lucky i am. And I'm going for a run tomorrow, because all the success in the world is for nowt if you lose your health.
- markbao 15y ago
  Thank you for that.
- StacyC 15y ago
  Well said.
marquis 15y ago
From the WSJ on Tim Cook: "people who know him don't consider him to be a visionary". I'd be shocked to hear that Jobs hasn't been grooming his replacement. Cook can keep Apple running for another couple of years, and I expect to see someone else come up as CEO from within the ranks who shares Steve's vision and ability to focus on what makes Apple successful.
- gobongo 15y ago
  Why do you suspect another such person exists? I mean, I don't even like Apple but I have to admit replacements for Jobs don't exactly grow on trees. If they did, Apple would have some real competition in their spaces instead of rolling over the other guys as they have been for the past 5 years. If there were another Steve Jobs working at Apple he'd have quit a long time ago to do his own thing.
- angus77 15y ago
  Do visionaries "rise in the ranks"? Did Steve?
  - marquis 15y ago
    Good point. I guess I'm just hopeful the empire doesn't collapse, or if it does we don't lose sight of what a good tech company can be capable of producing (in terms of hard/software at least, itunes notwithstanding).
mortenjorck 15y ago
Considering where Apple is today, especially in context of its epic journey across the past fifteen years, it almost seems like this would have been time regardless of any concerns about Steve's health. He helmed a company that started one revolution through several more, an eclipsing second act largely unlike anything else in the history of business. You need a one-in-a-million CEO to do that. Apple doesn't need that where it is now. Its struggles are just memories today. It still needs an incredibly smart CEO that can keep the company on the right path, which it has in Tim Cook, but the era in which Jobs was critical as CEO is over. Whether he's chairman of the board or executive visionary-in-residence, it'll be a more appropriate position for Apple's founder in this new decade. This doesn't mark the end of Apple's ascendancy, just the very end of the turnaround. The dawn is over. This is Apple greeting the day.
mkramlich 15y ago
Apple just lost their greatest salesman. Luckily their products are so nice they go along way to selling themselves.
- krishna2 15y ago
  Hm...but the salesman was able to do his job year after year only because of the awesome products. Rule #1 of marketing: Start with a gread product.
alexqgb 15y ago
This is really sad. I'm just glad he got to enjoy the glory of seeing a company he started in his parent's garage become - if only for a moment - the most valuable enterprise on Earth. I mean wow, what a ride.
- bitanarch 15y ago
  He changed how normal people viewed technology. That's much more important than the volatile numbers made up by Wall Street.
- swixmix 15y ago
  He's still alive, you know.
davidcollantes 15y ago
Sad day. He will be missed. I wish -- and hope -- he will get better.
sebkomianos 15y ago
I really, and I mean REALLY, hope that his biography coming out on November 21 this year and his resignation today have nothing to do with his health. In any way, thank you very much Steve, I guess you can leave your company quite happy and satisfied. :)
dkrich 15y ago
This is really sad, but with his official biography set to be released, and now this, the writing is on the wall. I certainly hope he recovers, though.
redial 15y ago
He took Apple from nearly bankruptcy to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest company in the world. He never stopped changing the world, but best of all, he retired on his own terms.
- MikeCapone 15y ago
  Well, his health is probably forcing him, so it might not be his own terms, but what he accomplished is still the benchmark for anyone else.
ww520 15y ago
This is really sad. His health is failing or he won't resign. It's an end of an era. :(
sinkercat 15y ago
The showman, the leader, the visionary. Get well soon, Steve. We will miss you.
ForrestN 15y ago
I think there's a bit of contradiction in all of the hand-wringing about whether or not Apple needs Steve to survive. Given that his health has been in question for several years, and speculation about what will happen if he has to leave, and given that he is a visionary, masterful auteur who guides Apple's strategy so successfully, don't we trust him to have accounted for all of this and developed a succession plan that continues Apple's success? If there was really a dearth of innovators, of executors, of strategists at Apple when he leaves, wouldn't he have worked to solve that problem? Great CEOs are hirers and developers of great talent. I suspect Jobs has done as good of a job setting up what happens after today as he has everything else.
crizCraig 15y ago
Cross site poll: What do you think will happen to Apple now that Steve Jobs has resigned? http://www.wepolls.com/p/2073012 http://www.wepolls.com/p/2073012
aidenn0 15y ago
It's always tough when the former CEO is chairman of the board. Has the feeling that daddy is looking over your shoulders...
mdg 15y ago
so is it eerily quiet on the streets of SF right now ?
- aristus 15y ago
  Yes. But it's because everyone is at Burning Man.
dataminer 15y ago
I hope he gets well soon
artursapek 15y ago
He was the biggest public figure behind Apple, though as an Ind. Design student I'll be just as bummed when Johnny Ive steps down. I hope Steve still shows up at the annual Apple Christmas con's, he's such a great presenter.
tonio09 15y ago
<blockquote> Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. </blockquote> I just wanted to highlight this segment as a perfect example of media neutrality.
- kschrader 15y ago
  It's part of every press release issued by Apple.
ww520 15y ago
Steve Jobs along with Bill Gates and others define the personal computing era. I grew up seeing these people trail-blazed and built up the technology world we know today. It's sad to see Jobs is stepping down, most likely due to health reason. It's like the representation of our computing generation is fading away. I don't know why but the dialogue from Blade Runner suddenly comes to mind, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain..."
susanhi 15y ago
Apple will be fine for the next 5 years. The iPhone, iPad, MacBooks, iMacs, etc. will carry them and their revenue. They probably have a few new products ready to release within a year as well, maybe TV or something else. The next 5 years I don't see them stalling. The iPhone and iPad have too much momentum. But the big question is from year 6 to 10. Apple needs a product leader, someone who will lead the whole company to rally around the latest and greatest new apple product. Hopefully Tim Cook can fit into that role, with help from Ive, Schiller, and others. Another hopeful note is the leadership institute Jobs has set up inside Apple with ex-business school profs archiving all of Jobs exploits and training then next generation of leaders. However, I think really nobody really knows what Apple will be like from year 6 to 10. But I'll be rooting for Apple and hope they continue to make revolutionary products.
schme 15y ago
During the time I've read HN I haven't once seen posts get this poetic and sentimental. I wonder what's it like on the Apple side of things.
g-garron 15y ago
I hope we may still see him around, doing those great presentations. He is a genius on that.
thought_alarm 15y ago
Apple Computer Inc the Apple II the Apple //e the Apple //c the Apple //GS the Mac Mac OS the Mac II the NeXT Cube NeXTSTEP OS NeXTSTEP API Objective-C Cocoa Mac OS X the iMac the Titanium PowerBook the iPod iTunes the iTunes Music Store the iPod Touch the iPhone the iPad iOS the App Store These things have been utterly inspirational and important to me from the time I first discovered computers for myself at age seven, to today. Without them I would not be who I am today, doing what I'm doing today. Thanks Steve. (And if you're wondering what Steve Jobs had to do with the Apple //c, //GS, and Mac II, he was the one who brought in Frog Design to design Apple hardware throughout the 80s, and their work was marvelous, just as Jony Ive's work is marvelous today)
- steve19 15y ago
  I would add the Macbook Air to the list.
  - timerickson 15y ago
    And all iPod variants.
- shadowsun7 15y ago
  And that's just Apple. Lest we forget, he changed the music industry, the film industry, the telecommunications industry (and maybe the gaming industry, see Nintendo's struggle vs the iPod and the iPhone as premier mobile gaming devices, but I think this is still up in the air) Steve is truly, truly an American legend.
  - jamesgeck0 15y ago
    He's definitely changed the gaming industry. Don't look at the platform, look at the developers. The nature of the iOS platform is giving indie developers some serious visibility that many might not otherwise have.
- elmindreda 15y ago
pacomerh 15y ago
CEO or not, this guy is capable of giving you some serious advice that can change your life. Such quality products must come from people with good intentions towards change.
bane 15y ago
I can only feel a bit of sadness not just from his resignation, but from the health circumstances that are likely behind this. I have to take my hat off to Mr. Jobs. Though there is much I disagree with him on (and personally, I'm not much of an Apple fan or consumer), he's one of the most amazing, talented and driven people I've ever seen. He's brought a unique and masterful skill to the art of selling, vertical integration, acquisitions and consumer electronics. And I mean art. Vertical integration was never something I thought I'd appreciate on an aesthetic level until I saw the level that Jobs has raised that form to time and again. The NeXT computer production line was divine. I think he's learned tremendously from what happened to Apple the last time he left and has spent extraordinary effort to ensure a smooth and capable team takes over. I can only guess that this might be happening after seeing the capability that the current team has executed with these past few months. I want Apple in the fight, they continuously raise the bar in the industry and literally make it great to be a consumer, even if you don't buy their stuff yourself. Kudos to Jobs for a job well done, and I wish him the best in health.
baby 15y ago
"Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. " yeah mmm okay, this article is biased.
- RyanGWU82 15y ago
  This isn't an article, it's a press release.
stmartin 15y ago
Don't fret, if Cook blows it, Linux, Wayland, KDE, Intel, Ubuntu are still here, without the cult of personality that accompanied Apple/Jobs. Jobs is good, I applaud him for what he accomplished, but he's missing that necessary ingredient - humility, without which one can not go into eternity.
waterlesscloud 15y ago
Jobs preparing for his very first TV appearance in 1978. It's funny how very nervous he is. Guess he learned to get over that... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ogsI2OAYWnk http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o...
ataaso 15y ago
Why didn't he wait for the iPhone announcement?
merubin75 15y ago
"Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself." Source: John Gruber, Daring Fireball blog http://shar.es/HUYIU http://shar.es/HUYIU
g123g 15y ago
For some reason this news is reminding me of the O Fortuna song. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Fortuna http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Fortuna It is passing of an era and things will not be same at Apple or in the tech industry after this.
connex 15y ago
Is there a good book out there dealing with how steve jobs actually evolved from birth to the production of the Macintosh ? That´s the part of his life that interests me most.
clu3 15y ago
Very tough time for Apple ahead "Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new" - Standford Commencement speech 2005 So "the old" are Gates, Jobs,... (born circa 1950s) and "the new" will be Brin, Page, Zuckerberg...
tyler_ball 15y ago
Without my Mac I would not have learned how to code. I would not have been able to find employment in Web Development, something I enjoy so much. Without my many iPods over the years I would not be as huge a music fan as I am now. I may not have learned how to play guitar, something I enjoy so much. I would be completely lost without my iPhone. It makes me the smartest person in the room. Thanks Steve.
shn 15y ago
If you read all the news you would think that the guy just passed away. Good heavens! no. He's only 55. I think we'll see more from him, only different than it used to be. It's life, ever changing...Thanks Steve!
psychotik 15y ago
I'm surprised there isn't enough mention of Jonathan Ive in commentary about the future of decision making at Apple. I think he's got a lot of Steve's aesthetic senses, and also has some of the same unquestioned authority/credibility that Steve does.
Tichy 15y ago
Sad, awful feeling in the gut.
culturestate 15y ago
I can always tell how big the media thinks a story is by how many unusual places I see it reported. As I type this, "Apple's Steve Jobs steps down" is in the headlines box on ESPN.com right between the little league world series and a story about Tom Brady. I think that's a small but fitting tribute to a man whose ideas and leadership have reached people and places beyond what any of us could've imagined even 10 years ago.
tomelders 15y ago
I think the days of Apple having a rock star CEO are over. I genuinely believe that a big part of Apple's success is down to Tim Cook, and I think the company is in good hands. But I doubt he'll ever take to the stage or become the face of Apple. That's no bad thing, but Apple has become a sort of entertainment, a movie almost, that people love to watch. I think those days are over and a new era of "mysterious CEO" is about to be ushered in. If anything, Apple is about to get a lot more secretive.
toblender 15y ago
Don't worry people, I'll be stepping in as CEO soon.
krishna2 15y ago
So much for the AAPL is going to tank and time to short comments. The change is a blip....
tyty 15y ago
Looks like some people are trying to capitalize on this: http://www.byestevejobs.com http://www.byestevejobs.com
code_duck 15y ago
The whole resurgence of Apple and the amazing products they've been making are enough, but I'm truly impressed with Apple's early years. The Apple ][ was such a standard in schools, and the first Macs were so unique (admitedly, I like the C64 and Amiga a bit more...). Woz rocks, too.
tomelders 15y ago
iQuit.
Frenchie 15y ago
There's a page "leaving card" to thank Steve Jobs for his work as CEO: http://www.plumpl.com/stevejobs http://www.plumpl.com/stevejobs
Knack 15y ago
Apple is now worse then Microsoft ever was. Because they're more snaky in putting the thumbscrews on the customers. The true face of Apple is an ugly one. I'm not saying Google or Facebook or Microsoft don't focus on making money on the expense of the customers and on the expense of the freedom of the internet. But I really fail to understand why some of you guys seem to see Steve Jobs as a hero. Are you aware that the direction Steve Jobs and all the big companies are heading to is to force people to buy an app for 5 dollars to write a comment on Hackker News? And as an extra premium they sell your private data to allow other companies rise the prices to the max. To me Apple has reached a new all time low as they sued Samsung with photoshoped pictures as if Apple had invented the tablet. They made the first great one, but they did not invent it. EDIT: Typo
navs 15y ago
Sad to see him leave. Even sadder to see him so unwell. Latest pics of him are gut wrenching.

1667 points by taylorbuley 15y ago

I don't like the closedness of iPhone and iPads, I prefer the more open platforms, like Android. But I deeply regret Steve Jobs leaving, he is a visionary, he did a lot of things for which he has my respect.

kellishaver 15y ago

Though I believe the company will be fine, this kind of feels like the end of an era. It's sad, as well, because it sounds very much like his reasons for stepping down are health-related, which can't be good. He's survived and built amazing things in the face of great illness, when a lot of people would have given up. Sure, he had more financial resources than most to put into that battle against cancer, but a large part of it still comes down to determination and will. It would have been easy, several years ago, to say "I'm too tired to do this anymore" when you've fought cancer and don't need the paycheck. Someone like that doesn't step away from something they love unless they feel they absolutely have to. I just hope Steve and his family are given the respect and privacy they will no doubt need and desire in the weeks and months ahead.

kooshball 15y ago

Wow. Even though everyone saw this one coming, I dont think anyone expected it to happen so soon. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts tomorrow, I imagine it wont be pretty. As the COO, Cook did great job lining up and executing the production line. Most of the creative work should already be in the pipeline for the 2012, 2013 releases. We'll see what happens after then.

technoslut 15y ago
Apple will probably be fine for the next decade. The main concern is if Apple can continue to create disruptive products. From Jobs' own mouth, it was his idea for the iPad a decade ago and from that sprung the iPhone.
- dkrich 15y ago
  The great thing about Apple is that it doen't create disruptive products, but invents new markets altogether.
  - spydez 15y ago
    Smart phones existed before the iPhone; Apple/Jobs just made them orders of magnitude better. Tablets have existed before the iPad; Apple/Jobs just made the first one the market fell in love with. What new markets have they created? Now, don't get me wrong... I love Apple. I have a Mac and an iPhone and Cinema displays. I'm jealous of my friends with iPads. Etc. I just don't see any brand new markets.
    - dkrich 15y ago
      How about iTunes? The App store? The iPad? I can go build some shit product and ship it first, but without a reliable customer base, there is no market. So yes, I think it is fair to say Apple has created new markets. Prior to 2007 the Motorola Razr was the most popular phone on the market. Enough said.
      - dolphenstein 15y ago
        There was an existing market for MP3 players, smart phones and tablet PC's. Apple didn't create them. It expanded them and introduced the products to the masses.
        dkrich 15y ago
        "It expanded them and introduced the products to the masses." And how is this not creating new markets? I think you are confusing markets with ideas. IBM wasn't the first to come up with the idea of the computer, but it certainly created new markets for it. Absent actually producing the product that is sold in the market, an idea (or a poorly implemented version of it) isn't much good.
johnx123-up 15y ago
Not to be pessimistic... but skeptical on this MBA guy

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

untog 15y ago

Wow. I very much hope that this not for illness reasons, and instead he simply decided that now was the time to make the changeover.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

swombat 15y ago

It makes perfect sense as part of the succession planning for Apple. This way, when Steve (very sadly) resigns "permanently" from any and all jobs, it will just be business as usual and not take down the Apple stock by 30% or something equally ridiculous. Still, quite a shock.

rhygar 15y ago
AAPL is still going to tank.
- swombat 15y ago
  Not for very long. There's no real reason for it to do so. This was entirely predictable. Sure, a bunch of people are going to short, but they'll be sorry they did.
  - mikeleeorg 15y ago
    I truly, sincerely hope you're right. I've always seen Jobs as a visionary leader, but I'm uncertain he's been similarly effective at grooming a leadership team (or individual) with the same vision. Cult of personality and all that. Part of Apple's success, IMHO, has been Jobs' ability to cut through bureaucracy, egos, corporate politics and industry politics to execute on a pristine vision. Perhaps it's my lack of faith in middle managers, but unless there is a clear mandate from leadership, details & priorities can morph down the chain of command. Visionary products can be diluted by others making what seem like perfectly sound trade-offs. It's the minimization of that dilution, setting of crystal-clear priorities, and making the hard trade-off decisions that has made Jobs such an effective leader at Apple. That, and his ability to look several steps ahead of an industry - and arguably to create new industries - that has given rise to so many of Apple's disruptive innovations. Without him, I have a bad feeling Apple will become better at creating sustaining innovations than disruptive ones. Of course, I don't work there and perhaps there are many others who can make such tough decisions and dream up industry-changing visions. I sincerely hope so. For the growth of the company, I sincerely hope so.
- krishna2 15y ago

kaiuhl 15y ago

Huge news. One can expect an overwhelming wave of punditry about this move, but it'll be interesting to read their official press release and what his role will be moving forward. Surely he'll still be the arbiter of taste until he's dead?

AdamTReineke 15y ago

John Gruber wrote that Steve Cook should succeed him last month. http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs Edit: Yup, I meant Tim Cook... Doh!

krishna2 15y ago
I assume you meant "Tim Cook" (the COO).
puredemo 15y ago
You mean Tim Cook.
loganlinn 15y ago
> John Gruber wrote that Steve Cook should succeed him last month. http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs http://daringfireball.net/2011/07/succeeding_steve_jobs You mean, Tim Cook. Freudian slip, I understand.
thesteamboat 15y ago
Perhaps you mean Tim Cook? Steve Cook is the famous computer scientist who proved that SAT is NP-Complete.

breckinloggins 15y ago

It pains me to admit it, but I'm relatively relieved. Sure, the stock price will take a beating, but I have to believe that Apple, the company, will remain strong under Tim Cook's leadership. Why am I relieved? Because, although AAPL is still quite high, I think that investors have been weary of the stock due to the uncertainty of Jobs' health and future. Make no mistake, we'll have a roller coaster for quite a while, but I strongly suspect that the next few product cycles will demonstrate that Apple is still a game-changer even in a world where Jobs is not at the helm. That being said, I'll miss him. He's a true visionary and such high-profile leaders only come along once in a great while.

ajross 15y ago
I have to insert one mild troll here: you seem to be writing in the voice of an Apple investor, yet from context you seem more like a user or developer. Why is the value of AAPL a universal good? Seems like it's quite high enough already.
- breckinloggins 15y ago
  Not a troll... a good question. The answer is I am all of those. The high value of AAPL is not a common good (although it's obviously good for me), but I was referring more to the constant fear in the markets of the eminent instability of the stock. There are many who believe that Apple IS Steve Jobs. I disagree, but it will be nice to see them come out of his shadow. And Apple will be a much easier stock to judge from an investment standpoint when that happens.
  - mtgentry 15y ago
    Hmm can you expand on why you think Apple isn't Steve? There are surely many great people at Apple. But Steve maintained an unwavering, fanatical commitment to product. That's the secret sauce. With him gone how will that continue? With a company that size, surely politics and other bullshit will eventually creep in and win out in arguments over product.

pkamb 15y ago

I wonder how long http://www.apple.com/pr/ http://www.apple.com/pr/ will take to update for this.

alanfalcon 15y ago
Apparently about 20 minutes. Steve's letter is on the site now.
- pkamb 15y ago
  I wonder how that delay reflects on the Apple org chart. Do the people behind /pr/ have advance notice of big announcements? Does Steve send his letter to them at the same time he sends it the Wall Street Journal?
  - philwelch 15y ago
    I'm pretty sure Apple's PR department is in charge of sending Steve's letter to the Wall Street Journal.
    - pkamb 15y ago
      Probably. It just kind of reminded me of that thing where the original iPhone hardware people supposedly had no idea what the software would look like, and vice versa.
mrb 15y ago
It's updated. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-Jobs.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-...

armandososa 15y ago

I don't know why, but I feel a little sad right now. Like being witness to the end of an era.

Bud 15y ago
You're sad because you are sensing that there's no replacement for The Steve, either inside Apple or outside. And you're right.
- wickedchicken 15y ago
  Leaving a void for the next generation to fill. I'm looking forward to it.
  - mikeleeorg 15y ago
    Every farewell is an opportunity for a new hello.
    - charlieflowers 15y ago
      I'm sad too. He is a once-an-epoch leader. Think what the world would be like without him. Amazing that a business leader can be so important and foundational to the world.
      - grammaton 15y ago
        This is getting to be a bit much....he was an impressive CEO. Important and foundational to the world.
  - rokhayakebe 15y ago
    Now that is a winner's attitude.
vynch 15y ago
I am very very saddened too!...i wonder if we will see another such great artist and visionary in our lifetimes!

johng 15y ago

What a roller coaster Steve Jobs' life (and his stewardship of Apple) has been. But, all in all, great job. Amazing job. Cheers to Steve.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

shoota 15y ago

Time to short AAPL.

krishna2 15y ago
Hmm..the time to do that would've been earlier today (before trading closed). If you do tomorrow, the pre-trading hours, the floor traders (and options traders and hence probably the institutional clients) would've an advantage of half-an-hour before us retail investors. So the opening price itself will be low enough. From then on, it would just be the crowd/herd movement. As Buffet said, "the stock market is a popularity voting contest in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term".
- swah 15y ago
  Do you recommend reading "The intelligent investor"?
  - krishna2 15y ago
    Very highly.
- hugh3 15y ago
  As Buffet said, "the stock market is a popularity voting contest in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term". I like that quote. I'm going to eat it.

corin_ 15y ago

Remember that just because the market is closed, things still happen, and you can keep an eye on the after hours price. Edit: as pointed out below, after/pre-hoursm

krishna2 15y ago
After hours trading is over too. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl The best indicator will probably be pre-trading-hours tomorrow.
- krishna2 15y ago
  I am wrong. It is still trading after-hours. It's down about 6%. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

JacobAldridge 15y ago

I'm preparing a presentation for the HN Meetup in London tomorrow and I used Apple as a 'forthcoming' example of Succession and its impact on equity/ share value. Guess I better reword that bit now, and again when the markets open tomorrow.

eyko 15y ago
There's a HN meetup in London today?
- ZeroMinx 15y ago
  Yup, http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/events/29224501/ http://www.meetup.com/HNLondon/events/29224501/

anatoly 15y ago

It's difficult to imagine this could be for any reason other than his illness, but I'd like to hope against hope.

51Cards 15y ago
Agreed, in fact I suspect that the 'chairman' position may also just be something to keep the stock from nose-diving and that it may not last long. I just have a feeling that Jobs wouldn't step back until he really really had to, and that it may be a sign of things being worse than he will let on right now.

Bud 15y ago

Steve will now be Chairman of the Board, to answer some questions from other comments. It's hard to see how this does not at least hint at some more bad health news, although I too hope that it does not mean this. Here's Steve's letter to the Board: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Letter-from-Steve-bw-2200607574.html?x=0&.v=1 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Letter-from-Steve-bw-220060757...

TomOfTTB 15y ago
How so? He was already on leave. Being on leave doesn't put a big strain on your health because you're not having to go in to the office. So how would health issues force him to step down? I guess maybe if he was so sick he physically couldn't go into the office but he's remaining chairman so that can't be the case.
- philwelch 15y ago
  The difference between going on leave and resigning is that it's expected that you will come back from leave. Sometimes health problems have a chance of getting better, and sometimes that chance goes away.

cpr 15y ago

Truly the end of an epoch in computing, assuming his influence fades quickly in a much reduced role at Apple.

puredemo 15y ago

This article is pretty vague on the details of 'why' he resigned. Does anyone have more information? All the best to Steve and his family..

AgentConundrum 15y ago
To put it bluntly, he's dying. His health hasn't been good in a while[1], and he's probably resigning to a) spend time with family before he goes, and b) to limit the damage to the company when he does. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Health_concerns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Health_concerns
- puredemo 15y ago
  It's still pretty vague. He had the surgery to remove the tumor. Then an unknown hormone problem? They a liver transplant? What is he dying from exactly? Does anyone know?
  - lwat 15y ago
    That's private. It doesn't really concern us. All we need to know is that his health issues are taking their toll and he recognizes that.
    - puredemo 15y ago
      Neuroendocrine Tumor/Islet Cell Carcinoma
  - RuadhanMc 15y ago
    It's vague cause that's the way he wants it.

thought_alarm 15y ago

I was really hoping that such succession news would be delivered by the man himself, if and when it happened. But I presume that's not going to happen. All the best to Steve and his family.

dmerfield 15y ago

Apple just confirmed Cook will replace Jobs as CEO.

puredemo 15y ago
Well, yeah, it's in the article.
- dmerfield 15y ago
  "I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple" != "Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple"
  - puredemo 15y ago
    Indeed, I should have said it was strongly insinuated in the article.

alanfalcon 15y ago

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you." From the WSJ blog: http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-as-apple-ceo/ http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-as-... EDIT: Now posted on Apple.com: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-Jobs.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-...

ristretto 15y ago
This hints it's probably about health reasons, which is the saddest part.
- Macha 15y ago
  Hinting is rather unnecessary. Why else would he leave?
  - ristretto 15y ago
    I 'd prefer that he would leave to "build a new pixar" or sth.
  - TomOfTTB 15y ago
    Because he's 56 years old and wants to start living a well deserved retirement? He's already on leave. So it isn't like there's a great strain on his health now. I would think no more than there will be when he remains on as chairman of the board. Which is the real point. If health were forcing him to step down he wouldn't be staying on as Chairman. There are significant duties to being Chairman of the Board. You have to appear in public, you have to go to official functions, and so on. You can't hide a serious illness and still be chairman of the board. Mark my words: This is all about Tim Cook (Which, if I might toot my own horn, I predicted here: http://tomstechblog.com/post/Ie28099m-Not-Sure-Steve-Jobs-Is-All-That-Sicke280a6But-That-Might-Mean-He-Isne28099t-Fully-Coming-Back.aspx http://tomstechblog.com/post/Ie28099m-Not-Sure-Steve-Jobs-Is...)

iand 15y ago

End of an era definitely. No-one can deny that Jobs has had one of the the most successful turnaround careers ever.

nhangen 15y ago

I'm sad about this in the same way I'm bummed when a great athlete retires. We've witness one of the greatest turnarounds in history, and though I'm confident that Apple will remain strong, it sucks to see this happen. That said, when the market dips, buy, buy, buy.

mkramlich 15y ago
I generally agree on buying when there's a dip. Except if the dip is due to a drop in the fundamental ability of said company to execute. A reasonable person could bet that while there may be no near/medium term ability in their ability to execute, that there will be a medium/long term drop. That old saw about A picks A, B picks C, C picks D, etc. There will likely be a decay.

jianshen 15y ago

As sad as this is, I really am looking forward to see how the company evolves the culture that he's created.

yesbabyyes 15y ago

It's wise to do this now, in a controlled manner. All the same, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with Apple in the long run.

dpio 15y ago

Clearly, he was just as bummed about webOS as everyone else.

craigmccaskill 15y ago

I wonder if this has been timed specifically prior to a major product release (iPhone 5) to help combat any stock drop.

dm8 15y ago

One of the most iconic leader of our times. I will miss his keynotes. They were simply joy to watch. The famous advert "Here's to the crazy ones..misfits.." totally applies to his career. I'm sure if AAPL ever recreates the same ad, he deserves his spot in there.

jacquesm 15y ago

deleted, since: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2922792 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2922792 said roughly the same thing and 6 minutes earlier.

tghw 15y ago
Considering that was their declared succession plan, it'd be hard for him to miss.
- Anechoic 15y ago
  IIRC, Apple never declared a succession plan. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/25/us-apple-vote-idUSTRE71M5FL20110225 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/25/us-apple-vote-idUS...
nkassis 15y ago
Everyone already knew it was most likely going to be Tim Cook. He's been pegged the successor for a few years at the very least.
ristretto 15y ago
You mean for WSJ. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303661904576455863730268934.html?mod=djemalertTECH http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230366190457645...
talbina 15y ago
It's not Gruber who predicted this. Every single journalist, analyst, and Apple fan boy predicted the same.
- SoftwareMaven 15y ago
  Not every one (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2134181 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2134181 ). I hope all goes well for Steve.
  - 15y ago

arnoldwh 15y ago

Sad day..I think I must have watched his stanford commencement speech at least a dozen times. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=youtube_gdata_player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=youtu...

dporan 15y ago
This announcement only makes more poignant what he said in that speech: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
- spking 15y ago
  Thank you for reminding me of this quote. Truly epic. http://spking.com/steve/ http://spking.com/steve/
- CamperBob 15y ago
  "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart..." "... and go out right after launching a bunch of bullshit patent suits."

typicalrunt 15y ago

Wow there are 9 duplicate stories on HN right now. Doesn't HN have a duplicate submission filter?

thematt 15y ago
That's what upvoting is for. Let the people decide what is most interesting.
- typicalrunt 15y ago
  Why downvote my question? It's a valid attempt to understand how HN filters duplicate stories. The dupes are also representative of the Internet at large. When a large story breaks, tonnes of people rush out to be "the one" who broke it on their news site.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]

jmjerlecki 15y ago

The Edison of our generation. Sad to see Jobs go and hopefully his health has not gotten worse. The greatest turnaround of a company ever – Steve will leave a long legacy.

typicalrunt 15y ago
Edison? Please...that's a bit much. Edison personally created the majority of his inventions. Jobs has an entire company/team behind him. And Jonathan Ives is a big help when it comes to the sleek design of Apple products.
- marquis 15y ago
  Perhaps not Edison - I expect he'll be known soon for his own way of doing things. If you've ever run a technology (or any, I suppose) company it's extremely hard to ship useful AND beautiful AND working products and beyond that offer incredible support. I admire Jobs for his vision and his passion at making it happen and he's been an inspiration to me.
- teyc 15y ago
  I don't believe he did. Edison ran a sizeable R&D lab. Look up Menlo Park.
- buff-a 15y ago
  Edison personally created the majority of his inventions. Citation needed. From what I know of Edison he was skilled at teamwork, business and PR. Which would make him more like Jobs.
  - Knack 15y ago
    Citiation needed
- artursapek 15y ago
  Edison actually took credit for many inventions created by people who worked for him.

MetallicCloud 15y ago

>Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world... Not exactly objective reporting is it?

funksta 15y ago
It's a press release. The paragraph in question appears to be in all of Apple's releases.

padmanabhan01 15y ago

This is the first time I have personally felt sad when a CEO has quit his company.

whatrocks 15y ago
I can't think of any other public company CEO departure that would even come close to this feeling.
redorb 15y ago
I will be sad when Mr. Page and Brin retire as well.
- jamesbkel 15y ago
  true, but hopefully that will be under better circumstances.
cabinguy 15y ago
Me too. I am not a big apple fan (I stay away from most of their products for reasons I will not go into here), but this marks the end of an era.

stevenj 15y ago

Thanks for all you've done, Steve.

taylorbuley 15y ago

Tim Cook has reportedly been given the nod, but I'm still sort of hoping that somewhere Zuck is updating his resume

kreek 15y ago
Nice one centurion. Like it. Like it.

jjm 15y ago

Believe it or not, things can still happen for the better. This change could continue the trend of success through new ideas. Had this not happened I would have said that the peak if the product lifecycle was upon Apple anyway. Hope this makes sense, typin on train from iPhone.

staunch 15y ago

A sad day. Fortunately, he'll continue to inspire the world of technology and entrepreneurs for decades to come. Thanks Steve!

AlexMuir 15y ago

And the greatest second act in (business) history draws to a close. He's changed the world. And he made Apple the most valuable company in the world. That's quite some achievement for a terminally ill man.

grammaton 15y ago
“The problem is I’m older now, I’m 40 years old, and this stuff doesn’t change the world. It really doesn’t. I’m sorry, it’s true. Having children really changes your view on these things. We’re born, we live for a brief instant, and we die. It’s been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much — if at all." --Steve Jobs
- AlexMuir 15y ago
  In the sense that the building blocks of the world are the same, yes. But it's changed my world - I haven't lost anyone's phone number for years. I take pictures of things. I go running more. I interact with distant friends. And I type faster than ever. I have access to the vast amounts of information in my pocket any time. That's amazing. And my 83 year old neighbour understands that she can touch things to see more information about them. That's amazing.

Jun8 15y ago

Oh no!! This means his illness is now quite severe. There can be no replacement to him. A lot of people say it's hard working for him (my friends at Apple totally dread meeting him by accident), he's egotistical, parks at a handicapped spot, etc. etc. To those people, I give the following, attributed to Judy Garland: ""They say it's hard to work with Judy Garland...do you have any idea how hard it is to BE Judy Garland?" Indeed!

CamperBob 15y ago
A lot of people say it's hard working for him (my friends at Apple totally dread meeting him by accident), he's egotistical, parks at a handicapped spot If pancreatic cancer doesn't get you a handicapped spot, I'd sure hate to have what it does take...
- slowpoke 15y ago
  Sorry, but what? A handicapped spot is for people who, for example, have difficulties walking, or need space to leave the car (wheelchairs). In what way exactly does pancreatic cancer prevents one from using a regular parking spot? Besides which, cancer is an illness. Not a handicap. It's fine if you like Steve Jobs or whatever - I agree he was, in some aspects, an important person (though not in positive sense, but that's just my humble opinion). But this pathological apologizing of his faults is plain and simply ridiculous.
  - thebooktocome 15y ago
    From http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr07.htm http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr07.htm : "You may qualify for a DPplacard or DPplates if you have impaired mobility due to having lost use of one or more lower extremities, or both hands, or have a diagnosed disease that substantially impairs or interferes with mobility, or one who is severely disabled to be unable to move without the aid of an assistive devise." So yes, illnesses can cause one to become disabled.

deleted 15y ago

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deleted 15y ago

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leon_ 15y ago

I hope Apple will survive this. I don't want to develop for windows.

nkassis 15y ago
I have no fear for apple's survival at least in the near 5+ years. Things will change but the talent that builds the products is still there. The coders, the designers ... all that needs to happen is for the culture created by Jobs to stick. As for developing on Windows, there's Linux. It's good stuff too.
SandB0x 15y ago
This is ridiculous. Do you honestly think the company will fall to pieces because there's a new CEO, one who has been at the company since 1998 and has worked closely with Steve Jobs? Is Apple's success entirely down to Jobs? What about all the talented engineers and designers who actually design the products and software?
- leon_ 15y ago
  > What about all the talented engineers and designers who actually design the products and software? What about all the talented engineers and designers at Microsoft, HP and co? Without a strong lead talent is worthless. (Either that or Apple has a monopoly for smart people and other companies hire only idiots?)
  - josephcooney 15y ago
    Agree. Look at how Microsoft performed while Bill Gates was CEO, and after. Although I don't rate Bill G as nearly as much of a visionary as Steve, leadership and vision of technical companies matter.
- gnaritas 15y ago
  You do recall what happened to Apple the last time Jobs left? I think Apple will be fine, but those doubting do have a valid case to make.

tiles 15y ago

I wonder if there was maybe some foresight in him having an official biography approved shortly before he stepped down as CEO.

losvedir 15y ago

Aww, I was kind of hoping Steve Jobs would do something insanely huge and visionary (in the way that only he can, it seems) with that massive stockpile of cash Apple has. Looks like it'll come out in dividends or some such run of the mill fashion.

rhygar 15y ago

This is about timing. AAPL became the most valuable company in the world recently. The best way to quit is when you're on top.

hugh3 15y ago
No, the best way to quit is when you're not dying.
- rhygar 15y ago
  /rimshot

RealGeek 15y ago

I hope Steve would still show up at WWDC :)

plainOldText 15y ago

When I first read the title I thought it was a joke. I was thinking how can a joke be voted number 1 on HN. Reading through the other titles however made it real. Well, I guess nothing lasts forever, and following Bill Gates, it is now Steve Jobs' time to step down as the CEO. The other week I was imagining how would Steve Jobs' office look like in the new headquarters they are planning to build. I guess that doesn't hold anymore. Well, we'll just move on.

miratom 15y ago

Great unbiased journalism: "Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software."

nopal 15y ago
It's a press release, see the top: "Press Release Source: Apple On Wednesday August 24, 2011, 6:35 pm"
chaz 15y ago
That's not journalism -- that's straight from Apple's press release, which is the whole article.

danilocampos 15y ago

Apple's going to be fine. Steve's most extraordinary work isn't the Mac, the iPhone or the iPad. It's rebuilding Apple in his image. It was creating organizational culture and habits that mimic his weird brain, like their aggressive software prototyping to prove that things work well and feel good. Fuck, I'll miss him, though. I'll miss the way he got up there each and every time like he was selling you your own personal Jesus in a box. Not out of hucksterism, but because he really was that excited to share what he and his people had been working on. Excited to do things better. Excited to solve problems in a way that was far more tasteful, more satisfying, than anything anyone had bothered to try before. Maybe he'll still do announcements as his health allows – but maybe that would send a weird message. He's a man who was lucky enough to find out exactly what he did best – and to seize upon it with every cell in his body. I'm a better person for his example. The resurrection of Apple was one of the most enjoyable things I followed in my childhood. No matter how you feel about his approach, this is a guy who loves his work with an intensity that couldn't be faked and won't be soon matched.

TomOfTTB 15y ago
For the record this doesn't necessarily mean he will stop giving presentations. Gates continued to do his Comdex speech after stepping down as CEO (and remaining as Chairman)
- danilocampos 15y ago
  The last WWDC kind of makes me skeptical on this. He let his lieutenants do almost all of the segments he'd normally take on himself. He needs to send a message that Apple's got this – they can do it on their own. Still, as long as he can stand and talk, I have a hard time believing he'd miss a product launch.
  - biot 15y ago
    I'd wager that he won't be presenting the next one, but he will come out at the last minute and present the "one more thing".
- 15y ago

leeskye 15y ago

San Franciscans are probably wandering the streets wondering if they're going to get their iPhone5 before Christmas.

meterplech 15y ago

Can people stop talking about the effect of the stock? I get it- many of us own AAPL. This is one of the greatest entrepreneurs and CEOs ever stepping down. Let's focus on that.

benkulbertis 15y ago

Good. (Downvotes please)

brianwillis 15y ago

It's really hard to know what to say. Jobs' resignation definitely marks the end of an era, and implies that his health is getting worse, but we all knew that this day was going to come eventually.

mathattack 15y ago

I have to admit I feel like his letter was more like Lou Gehrig than Michael Jordan. I wish him the absolute best.

ricw 15y ago

Nothing has changed in the short term, though lets hope that in the long term his successors can keep innovating as much as Apple has under Jobs. Most importantly though, I hope that Steve recovers soon from whatever might be ailing him. Somewhat sad times..

arjn 15y ago

The end of an era for Apple. However, this is hardly unexpected. He has been very ill for a while now. Time for him to focus on himself and his family.

teyc 15y ago

The biggest thing Jobs brought to the computing industry is humanity. The understanding that in the end, humans come first. The second thing is he taught that you don't have to check every box in order to be successful. He stripped computing back to its roots in science fiction, and built devices that were originally imagined, taking away feature after feature until something is understood.

gamache 15y ago

And Tim Cook is his successor, it's confirmed: > Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple > Tim Cook Named CEO and Jobs Elected Chairman of the Board > CUPERTINO, California—August 24, 2011—Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Steve-Jobs-Resigns-as-CEO-of-Apple.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Steve-Jobs-Resigns...

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

ESPNbruddah 15y ago

Who is Steve Jobs?

AlexMuir 15y ago

Many of us on HN aspire to the success that Steve's had. We'd love to be him, to build something amazing like Apple. But I bet he'd give anything to have the good health and indeterminate life expectancy that we have tonight. I'll go to sleep thinking how lucky i am. And I'm going for a run tomorrow, because all the success in the world is for nowt if you lose your health.

markbao 15y ago
Thank you for that.
StacyC 15y ago
Well said.

marquis 15y ago

From the WSJ on Tim Cook: "people who know him don't consider him to be a visionary". I'd be shocked to hear that Jobs hasn't been grooming his replacement. Cook can keep Apple running for another couple of years, and I expect to see someone else come up as CEO from within the ranks who shares Steve's vision and ability to focus on what makes Apple successful.

gobongo 15y ago
Why do you suspect another such person exists? I mean, I don't even like Apple but I have to admit replacements for Jobs don't exactly grow on trees. If they did, Apple would have some real competition in their spaces instead of rolling over the other guys as they have been for the past 5 years. If there were another Steve Jobs working at Apple he'd have quit a long time ago to do his own thing.
angus77 15y ago
Do visionaries "rise in the ranks"? Did Steve?
- marquis 15y ago
  Good point. I guess I'm just hopeful the empire doesn't collapse, or if it does we don't lose sight of what a good tech company can be capable of producing (in terms of hard/software at least, itunes notwithstanding).

mortenjorck 15y ago

Considering where Apple is today, especially in context of its epic journey across the past fifteen years, it almost seems like this would have been time regardless of any concerns about Steve's health. He helmed a company that started one revolution through several more, an eclipsing second act largely unlike anything else in the history of business. You need a one-in-a-million CEO to do that. Apple doesn't need that where it is now. Its struggles are just memories today. It still needs an incredibly smart CEO that can keep the company on the right path, which it has in Tim Cook, but the era in which Jobs was critical as CEO is over. Whether he's chairman of the board or executive visionary-in-residence, it'll be a more appropriate position for Apple's founder in this new decade. This doesn't mark the end of Apple's ascendancy, just the very end of the turnaround. The dawn is over. This is Apple greeting the day.

mkramlich 15y ago

Apple just lost their greatest salesman. Luckily their products are so nice they go along way to selling themselves.

krishna2 15y ago
Hm...but the salesman was able to do his job year after year only because of the awesome products. Rule #1 of marketing: Start with a gread product.

alexqgb 15y ago

This is really sad. I'm just glad he got to enjoy the glory of seeing a company he started in his parent's garage become - if only for a moment - the most valuable enterprise on Earth. I mean wow, what a ride.

bitanarch 15y ago
He changed how normal people viewed technology. That's much more important than the volatile numbers made up by Wall Street.
swixmix 15y ago
He's still alive, you know.

davidcollantes 15y ago

Sad day. He will be missed. I wish -- and hope -- he will get better.

sebkomianos 15y ago

I really, and I mean REALLY, hope that his biography coming out on November 21 this year and his resignation today have nothing to do with his health. In any way, thank you very much Steve, I guess you can leave your company quite happy and satisfied. :)

dkrich 15y ago

This is really sad, but with his official biography set to be released, and now this, the writing is on the wall. I certainly hope he recovers, though.

redial 15y ago

He took Apple from nearly bankruptcy to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest company in the world. He never stopped changing the world, but best of all, he retired on his own terms.

MikeCapone 15y ago
Well, his health is probably forcing him, so it might not be his own terms, but what he accomplished is still the benchmark for anyone else.

ww520 15y ago

This is really sad. His health is failing or he won't resign. It's an end of an era. :(

sinkercat 15y ago

The showman, the leader, the visionary. Get well soon, Steve. We will miss you.

ForrestN 15y ago

I think there's a bit of contradiction in all of the hand-wringing about whether or not Apple needs Steve to survive. Given that his health has been in question for several years, and speculation about what will happen if he has to leave, and given that he is a visionary, masterful auteur who guides Apple's strategy so successfully, don't we trust him to have accounted for all of this and developed a succession plan that continues Apple's success? If there was really a dearth of innovators, of executors, of strategists at Apple when he leaves, wouldn't he have worked to solve that problem? Great CEOs are hirers and developers of great talent. I suspect Jobs has done as good of a job setting up what happens after today as he has everything else.

crizCraig 15y ago

Cross site poll: What do you think will happen to Apple now that Steve Jobs has resigned? http://www.wepolls.com/p/2073012 http://www.wepolls.com/p/2073012

aidenn0 15y ago

It's always tough when the former CEO is chairman of the board. Has the feeling that daddy is looking over your shoulders...

mdg 15y ago

so is it eerily quiet on the streets of SF right now ?

aristus 15y ago
Yes. But it's because everyone is at Burning Man.

dataminer 15y ago

I hope he gets well soon

artursapek 15y ago

He was the biggest public figure behind Apple, though as an Ind. Design student I'll be just as bummed when Johnny Ive steps down. I hope Steve still shows up at the annual Apple Christmas con's, he's such a great presenter.

tonio09 15y ago

<blockquote> Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. </blockquote> I just wanted to highlight this segment as a perfect example of media neutrality.

kschrader 15y ago
It's part of every press release issued by Apple.

ww520 15y ago

Steve Jobs along with Bill Gates and others define the personal computing era. I grew up seeing these people trail-blazed and built up the technology world we know today. It's sad to see Jobs is stepping down, most likely due to health reason. It's like the representation of our computing generation is fading away. I don't know why but the dialogue from Blade Runner suddenly comes to mind, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain..."

susanhi 15y ago

Apple will be fine for the next 5 years. The iPhone, iPad, MacBooks, iMacs, etc. will carry them and their revenue. They probably have a few new products ready to release within a year as well, maybe TV or something else. The next 5 years I don't see them stalling. The iPhone and iPad have too much momentum. But the big question is from year 6 to 10. Apple needs a product leader, someone who will lead the whole company to rally around the latest and greatest new apple product. Hopefully Tim Cook can fit into that role, with help from Ive, Schiller, and others. Another hopeful note is the leadership institute Jobs has set up inside Apple with ex-business school profs archiving all of Jobs exploits and training then next generation of leaders. However, I think really nobody really knows what Apple will be like from year 6 to 10. But I'll be rooting for Apple and hope they continue to make revolutionary products.

schme 15y ago

During the time I've read HN I haven't once seen posts get this poetic and sentimental. I wonder what's it like on the Apple side of things.

g-garron 15y ago

I hope we may still see him around, doing those great presentations. He is a genius on that.

thought_alarm 15y ago

Apple Computer Inc the Apple II the Apple //e the Apple //c the Apple //GS the Mac Mac OS the Mac II the NeXT Cube NeXTSTEP OS NeXTSTEP API Objective-C Cocoa Mac OS X the iMac the Titanium PowerBook the iPod iTunes the iTunes Music Store the iPod Touch the iPhone the iPad iOS the App Store These things have been utterly inspirational and important to me from the time I first discovered computers for myself at age seven, to today. Without them I would not be who I am today, doing what I'm doing today. Thanks Steve. (And if you're wondering what Steve Jobs had to do with the Apple //c, //GS, and Mac II, he was the one who brought in Frog Design to design Apple hardware throughout the 80s, and their work was marvelous, just as Jony Ive's work is marvelous today)

steve19 15y ago
I would add the Macbook Air to the list.
- timerickson 15y ago
  And all iPod variants.
shadowsun7 15y ago
And that's just Apple. Lest we forget, he changed the music industry, the film industry, the telecommunications industry (and maybe the gaming industry, see Nintendo's struggle vs the iPod and the iPhone as premier mobile gaming devices, but I think this is still up in the air) Steve is truly, truly an American legend.
- jamesgeck0 15y ago
  He's definitely changed the gaming industry. Don't look at the platform, look at the developers. The nature of the iOS platform is giving indie developers some serious visibility that many might not otherwise have.
elmindreda 15y ago

pacomerh 15y ago

CEO or not, this guy is capable of giving you some serious advice that can change your life. Such quality products must come from people with good intentions towards change.

bane 15y ago

I can only feel a bit of sadness not just from his resignation, but from the health circumstances that are likely behind this. I have to take my hat off to Mr. Jobs. Though there is much I disagree with him on (and personally, I'm not much of an Apple fan or consumer), he's one of the most amazing, talented and driven people I've ever seen. He's brought a unique and masterful skill to the art of selling, vertical integration, acquisitions and consumer electronics. And I mean art. Vertical integration was never something I thought I'd appreciate on an aesthetic level until I saw the level that Jobs has raised that form to time and again. The NeXT computer production line was divine. I think he's learned tremendously from what happened to Apple the last time he left and has spent extraordinary effort to ensure a smooth and capable team takes over. I can only guess that this might be happening after seeing the capability that the current team has executed with these past few months. I want Apple in the fight, they continuously raise the bar in the industry and literally make it great to be a consumer, even if you don't buy their stuff yourself. Kudos to Jobs for a job well done, and I wish him the best in health.

baby 15y ago

"Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. " yeah mmm okay, this article is biased.

RyanGWU82 15y ago
This isn't an article, it's a press release.

stmartin 15y ago

Don't fret, if Cook blows it, Linux, Wayland, KDE, Intel, Ubuntu are still here, without the cult of personality that accompanied Apple/Jobs. Jobs is good, I applaud him for what he accomplished, but he's missing that necessary ingredient - humility, without which one can not go into eternity.

waterlesscloud 15y ago

Jobs preparing for his very first TV appearance in 1978. It's funny how very nervous he is. Guess he learned to get over that... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ogsI2OAYWnk http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o...

ataaso 15y ago

Why didn't he wait for the iPhone announcement?

merubin75 15y ago

"Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself." Source: John Gruber, Daring Fireball blog http://shar.es/HUYIU http://shar.es/HUYIU

g123g 15y ago

For some reason this news is reminding me of the O Fortuna song. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Fortuna http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Fortuna It is passing of an era and things will not be same at Apple or in the tech industry after this.

connex 15y ago

Is there a good book out there dealing with how steve jobs actually evolved from birth to the production of the Macintosh ? That´s the part of his life that interests me most.

clu3 15y ago

Very tough time for Apple ahead "Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new" - Standford Commencement speech 2005 So "the old" are Gates, Jobs,... (born circa 1950s) and "the new" will be Brin, Page, Zuckerberg...

tyler_ball 15y ago

Without my Mac I would not have learned how to code. I would not have been able to find employment in Web Development, something I enjoy so much. Without my many iPods over the years I would not be as huge a music fan as I am now. I may not have learned how to play guitar, something I enjoy so much. I would be completely lost without my iPhone. It makes me the smartest person in the room. Thanks Steve.

shn 15y ago

If you read all the news you would think that the guy just passed away. Good heavens! no. He's only 55. I think we'll see more from him, only different than it used to be. It's life, ever changing...Thanks Steve!

psychotik 15y ago

I'm surprised there isn't enough mention of Jonathan Ive in commentary about the future of decision making at Apple. I think he's got a lot of Steve's aesthetic senses, and also has some of the same unquestioned authority/credibility that Steve does.

Tichy 15y ago

Sad, awful feeling in the gut.

culturestate 15y ago

I can always tell how big the media thinks a story is by how many unusual places I see it reported. As I type this, "Apple's Steve Jobs steps down" is in the headlines box on ESPN.com right between the little league world series and a story about Tom Brady. I think that's a small but fitting tribute to a man whose ideas and leadership have reached people and places beyond what any of us could've imagined even 10 years ago.

tomelders 15y ago

I think the days of Apple having a rock star CEO are over. I genuinely believe that a big part of Apple's success is down to Tim Cook, and I think the company is in good hands. But I doubt he'll ever take to the stage or become the face of Apple. That's no bad thing, but Apple has become a sort of entertainment, a movie almost, that people love to watch. I think those days are over and a new era of "mysterious CEO" is about to be ushered in. If anything, Apple is about to get a lot more secretive.

toblender 15y ago

Don't worry people, I'll be stepping in as CEO soon.

krishna2 15y ago

So much for the AAPL is going to tank and time to short comments. The change is a blip....

tyty 15y ago

Looks like some people are trying to capitalize on this: http://www.byestevejobs.com http://www.byestevejobs.com

code_duck 15y ago

The whole resurgence of Apple and the amazing products they've been making are enough, but I'm truly impressed with Apple's early years. The Apple ][ was such a standard in schools, and the first Macs were so unique (admitedly, I like the C64 and Amiga a bit more...). Woz rocks, too.

tomelders 15y ago

iQuit.

Frenchie 15y ago

There's a page "leaving card" to thank Steve Jobs for his work as CEO: http://www.plumpl.com/stevejobs http://www.plumpl.com/stevejobs

Knack 15y ago

Apple is now worse then Microsoft ever was. Because they're more snaky in putting the thumbscrews on the customers. The true face of Apple is an ugly one. I'm not saying Google or Facebook or Microsoft don't focus on making money on the expense of the customers and on the expense of the freedom of the internet. But I really fail to understand why some of you guys seem to see Steve Jobs as a hero. Are you aware that the direction Steve Jobs and all the big companies are heading to is to force people to buy an app for 5 dollars to write a comment on Hackker News? And as an extra premium they sell your private data to allow other companies rise the prices to the max. To me Apple has reached a new all time low as they sued Samsung with photoshoped pictures as if Apple had invented the tablet. They made the first great one, but they did not invent it. EDIT: Typo

navs 15y ago

Sad to see him leave. Even sadder to see him so unwell. Latest pics of him are gut wrenching.