The Mac Lounge forum: Poll: Do you think Apple will be the same without Steve Jobs?

The possibility of Steve's death has been built into the stock price and the running of the company for at least a couple of years.

The current CEO has been the actual head of the company for some time now and was hand picked by Steve.

Will the new CEO have the same vision (maybe), the same charisma (doubtful) is hard to predict. Who knows how many projects Apple has in the pipeline that have the mark of Steve on them.

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Steve Jobs didnt invent every great device at Apple all by himself. For 14 years he's been exhorting his colegues to do one thing: go for it. If you believe a man can teach others to open their eyes, then APPLE will thrive. There are 50,000 employees there, most of whom want to do their best work, who care about their customers, and will go all out to prove it. Steve Jobs taught them a valuable lesson-- how to live and experence lives worth living at work.

Yes, I think Apple will be either the same or further improved under new leadership. It is precisely because of the greatness of the late Steve Jobs that I believe his successor(s) are more motivated to continue improving Apple in every way possible.

Even though Steve Jobs was rarely active, due to his illness, in the company over the last few years,
right until the very end he was the inspiration, visionary, motivator and muse of/for Apple.
He was truly one of a kind and I don't believe that Apple would be where they are today without him.
There might not have been an Apple today.
He was the guy who pushed ahead with his ideas and dreams against all the odds and
also against the opinions of many, many "experts" including in his own company
He was the iConciever as well as the iMidwife, an extremely hard act to follow.

I have never bought an Apple product, but I have immense admiration for his creative genius and business acumen. .

Of course it won't be the same; that's true by definition. But I don't think that's the real question. The real question--one of them, anyway--is whether the spirit he imbued in Apple will continue to flourish now that he's gone. I think it will, at least for a while. I hope most Apple employees will want to keep his spirit alive in the company to both honor his memory and continue the basic philosophy that made Apple so successful. By way of full disclosure: I have never owned an Apple product (I don't count iTunes here). Mostly that's because I've spent most of my career in IT and Accounting, where Windows tends to dominate. But I've always admired the simplicity and elegance of Apple products. I'm saving up for an iPad, for no reason other than when I saw it, my immediate reaction was "I want one of those".

On a strictly personal note: as a San Francisco-area resident for many years, I've always felt Steve Jobs as a positive presence (and a "home town boy"). He is one of those people who are somehow so important that I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard of his passing. Even though I never met him, or even saw him in person, I will miss him.

Jobs invented very little. Only the smart phone comes to mind. Rather, he made better things that others had already brought to market.
If the company can continue to make products designed to be used by the users, it'll do well.

It won't be long before those who emotionally commit to Steve as Apple, to accept the next one, but it probably will slow new sales down a bit till that happens.
The peeps need a show piece to tell them they need to buy the next version or update. Steve did that greatly. How much he actually did in the company, on the products, who really knows (with out speculation), but he certainly lead his crew to keep doing it.

Hopefully, Pixar will come up with some great toons.

It's sad to see any visionary pass, let alone early.

I don't think that Apple will ever be the same with out Steve Jobs. Steve had such a creative mind and also brought the company up when it was gone. I think it will be OK for the next 5 years, but it will go down after that.

I think you have missed a tick box from your list.

Yes. (Why?)
No. (Why not?)
I don't know.
I don't care.

Steve Jobs ran Apple like a King,it was his way or the highway.Consequently he could change the direction and focus as needed.Future CEO's will most likely be the typical shareholders puppet and not have the control that Jobs had for better or worse it will not be the same.Will Apple become the new IBM and disappear?Only time will tell.

The apple company was more than one man it took all th talent to create the wonderful things apple has given us to date and the talent is still there and a man to decide if the next idea is worth going out to apple lovers has been put in place to carry on where steve has left off. He will be missed but his plan will go on.