Tomorrow, the 5th of October, 2014 will mark the 3rd anniversary of the passing of Steve Jobs. On October 4th, 2011, which was 3 years ago from today, for the first time, Tim Cook stood on stage and announced the new generation of iPhone, the iPhone 4s.
The world has moved on since 2011 and things has changed a lot in 3 years; the iPhone 4s isn’t even on stock anymore. It has joined the line of history, along with the 4, 3GS, the first iMac, the Apple I and II. But looking at Apple today, as I am right now, outside of an Apple Store downtown, I know that Steve is still in there somewhere. He has never left.
People say Steve Jobs changed the world with his devices: the first Personal Computer, the mouse, the iPod iPhone and iPad that make up our everyday life. But what’s behind all those, is what truly changed the world: Steve’s greatest invention of all, Apple.
Steve’s visions have far outlived himself, and his legacy shall always be with Apple. And his influence is on all the projects and ideas that Apple’s working on today, even the ones that started after his death.
“Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields the results that makes our hearts sing. We think we are on the right track with this. We think we have the right architecture not just in silicon but in the organization to build these kinds of products.”
—– Steve Jobs, after the launch of the iPad
Referring back to what we’re using today, this can’t be more true. Steve left a huge legacy for Apple; he has built Apple so well that it doesn’t just make certain devices regarded as great products which are easy to use in the PC and smartphone industry, but indeed grasps the algorithm to design and build series of great products, not only in the pc and smartphone industry. Apple’s attempt in making iTV, Apple Watch, better chip architecture design, better camera performance, screen resolutions and the acts of involving the health and fitness industries, newer ways of retail stores, sports, earphones and audio systems, music industry, car-mounted display and systems and so many more have been a total refection of Apple’s DNA, to think different(ly), which has a way to make every product easy and convenient to use, and delivers the best customer experience.
But Steve didn’t stop just there; he left a legacy for all his competitors too. By setting up the competition, introducing the product development structure to the whole world: Microsoft didn’t have retail stores that are a bluer replica of Apple’s in 2010; non of the computers were using high resolution displays and, without iPhone and iOS, Android and billions of phones won’t exist as they do like today. Without this pioneer, I wonder how many more years will the world envelop under Nokia and Blackberry, who were satisfied with what they had, and how many more anti-human-like designs, such as marketing and sales focused innovation with no effect upon enhancing user experience, and fancy add-ons that disobey the true meaning of being productive.
The true lesson that other companies should learn from Apple is to be multi-dimentional. Steve has lead Apple in a glorious battle, not just to win and lead with competition, leaving other’s copying afterwards, but to show the world to innovate with true meanings and to think from another prospectives. The business, marketing and sales focus should be turned around; the design process should be accompanied by disruptive innovation, along with artistic and obsession. Companies should focus on how Apple used the creativity and technology to create meaningful features and enhanced user experience, not how many sales and profit Apple has achieved through them.
THANK YOU FOR CHANGING OUR LIVES IN SUCH AN EXTRAORDINARY WAY.
MAY YOU REST IN PEACE, STEVE.
