Steve Jobs was a visionary tech entrepreneur who co-founded Apple and revolutionized the consumer electronics industry with a series of hit products including the iMac and the iPhone. With a keen understanding of what made a product easy for consumers to use, played a pivotal role in transforming several industries through his innovative work in technology and design.
However, after a power struggle with Apple’s board, Jobs left the company in 1985. He went on to found NeXT Inc., which developed high-end workstations and software, although it struggled commercially. In 1986, Jobs acquired a major stake in Lucasfilm’s Graphics Group, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar’s success, starting with the release of Toy Story in 1995, made it a major player in animation before its acquisition by Disney in 2006.
Steve Jobs returns to Apple in 1997, and revolutionary products follow
Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 when Apple acquired NeXT. His return marked the beginning of a new era for the company. Under his leadership, Apple introduced several revolutionary products.
The iMac, released in 1998, redefined computer design with its vibrant, translucent blue casing.
Next, the iPod arrived in 2001. Capable of putting “1,000 songs in your pocket,” the digital audio player transformed the music industry.
The first iPhone, released in 2007, changed mobile communication — and life itself — with its touchscreen interface.
And the iPad, released in in 2010, popularized tablet computing.
Throughout his wildly successful career, Steve Jobs was known for his intense focus on product design and user experience. He worked hand-in-hand with Jony Ive, Apple’s design chief at the time, to make Apple one of the most valuable and influential technology companies in the world.
Steve Jobs dies on October 5, 2011
In August 2011, due to pancreatic cancer and related health problems, Jobs resigned from his role as Apple’s CEO. He died at age 56 on October 5, 2011, leaving behind a profound legacy of innovation and creativity that continues to shape technology and consumer electronics.
For more information, read Inside Steve’s Brain by Cult of Mac founder Leander Kahney, or Steve Jobs, a biography by Walter Isaacson.
The disastrous Apple Maps showed Scott Forstall the way out of Cupertino. Photo: Apple
October 29, 2012: Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iOS software, is fired from the company after the disastrous Apple Maps launch. After Forstall is ousted, Apple divvies up the roles he previously handled among other high-level execs.
Design chief Jony Ive assumes leadership of the Human Interface team. Craig Federighi becomes head of iOS software. Eddy Cue takes control of Maps and Siri. And Bob Mansfield “unretires” to lead a new technology group.
French industrial architect Philippe Starck designed Steve Jobs' $118 million yacht. Photo: photostephan.eu/Wikimedia CC
October 28, 2012: More than a year after Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ death, the luxury yacht he commissioned is shown off for the first time, launched from a shipyard in North Holland. Called Venus, the distinctive-looking yacht was one of the big personal projects Jobs pursued in his final years.
As Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson, “I have to keep going on it. If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die.”
Sadly, Jobs never lived to see the finished vessel.
At the turn of the century, some observers accused Steve Jobs of failing one of Apple's most popular markets. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
October 27, 1999: Dell Computer overtakes Apple in the educational market, stealing Cupertino’s crown as the top company selling computers to U.S. schools. Dell’s cheap Windows PCs make sense for schools looking to buy computers without breaking the bank.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, still in the process of rebuilding Apple after its near-collapse in the 1990s, faces heavy criticism for ignoring one of the company’s strongest markets.
People couldn't wait to discover Steve Jobs' next move. Image: Newsweek
October 24, 1988: Three years after leaving Apple, Steve Jobs prepares to launch the NeXT Computer, a machine he hopes will cement his reputation as a tech genius and blow away the machines produced by Cupertino.
The new NeXT Computer receives a wave of positive publicity. Fawning stories show exactly what the 33-year-old Jobs has been working on — and what’s coming next.
Introduced on this day in 2001, the iPod quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Photo: Newsweek
October 23, 2001: Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the first iPod, a device capable of storing an entire music library in a highly portable package.
The first-generation device boasts a 5GB hard drive capable of putting “1,000 songs in your pocket.” That may not sound too dazzling in a world in which people can stream the massive Apple Music library from their iPhones, but it was a game-changer at the time!
The App Store racked up 200 million downloads in less than five months. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
October 22, 2008: During a conference call, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reveals that a user downloaded the 200 millionth app from the App Store that very day.
The news comes less than five months after the launch of the App Store, and only a month after Apple surpassed 100 million app downloads.
October 20, 2009: Apple goes big with its iMac redesign, introducing the first 27-inch all-in-one Mac. The sleek, sophisticated aluminum unibody design looks so good that the iMac will remain virtually unchanged for years.
As with the first Macintosh with a built-in CD-ROM drive, the iMac’s 27-inch display represents a sea change for tech. The big, beautiful screen signals that larger displays need no longer remain the domain of pampered professionals.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With the M5 chip, Apple silicon blows our minds once again with its insane combination of performance and efficiency. How does Apple keep pulling this off?
We discuss all the lustworthy new hardware that the M5 powers: MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Vision Pro.
Also on The CultCast:
What’s the new Vision Pro headset’s biggest upgrade? Hint: It’s not the chip.
If you’re picking up a new iPad Pro, you really should go big on storage.
How did the upcoming Steve Jobs commemorative $1 coin go so hilariously wrong?
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
On this day in 2003, Steve Jobs revealed his plan to bring iTunes to Windows. Photo: Apple
October 16, 2003: Six months after opening the iTunes Music Store for Mac owners, Apple expands the service to Windows computers. This gives PC owners a new, legitimate way to download — and pay for — songs at a time when digital piracy threatens the music industry.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs later quips that making iTunes available to Windows owners is akin to “giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.”
Hey, look — it's Steve Jobs! At least we think that's Steve Jobs ... although it almost looks like he has moobs. Image: U.S. Mint
A questionable portrait of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sitting cross-legged in a California meadow will appear on a collectible $1 coin from the U.S. Mint in 2026. It’s a great tribute to Jobs and Apple’s innovation — but you’ll need to squint pretty hard to identify the hippie-turned-techpreneur.
“This design presents a young Steve Jobs sitting in front of a quintessentially northern California landscape of oak-covered rolling hills,” the Mint said in a press release Wednesday. “His posture and expression, as he is captured in a moment of reflection, show how this environment inspired his vision to transform complex technology into something as intuitive and organic as nature itself.”
The Jobs coin — which kinda makes Apple’s late leader look like a young Ellen DeGeneres — is one of four featured in the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin Program, a commemorative series established to honor U.S. inventors and innovators.
Tim Cook was on his way to the top spot at Apple. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
October 14, 2005: Tim Cook takes the reins as Apple’s chief operating officer. His new role as Apple COO continues his upward climb through the company’s ranks that will make him CEO less than six years later.
“Tim and I have worked together for over seven years now, and I am looking forward to working even more closely with him to help Apple reach some exciting goals during the coming years,” Steve Jobs says in a statement.
October 13, 2006: Apple launches a limited-edition iPod nano (Product) Red Special Edition music player in collaboration with U2 lead singer Bono and activist/attorney Bobby Shriver, with 10% of profits going to fight AIDS in Africa.
It’s the first of many Apple philanthropic products. “We’re ecstatic that Apple is giving their customers the choice to buy a red iPod nano and help women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa,” the U2 singer says in a statement.
Steve Jobs called iCloud Apple's hard disk in the sky. Photo: Apple
October 12, 2011: Apple launches iCloud, a service that lets users automatically and wirelessly store content in the cloud and push it to their various devices.
iCloud’s arrival marks the end of Apple’s Mac-centric “digital hub” strategy — and ushers in an age of inter-device communication and non-localized files.
The iPhone 4s was the last iPhone that Steve Jobs directly worked on. Photo: Apple
October 7, 2011: Two days after the death of Steve Jobs, Apple opens preorders for its next-gen iPhone 4s.
The last iPhone that Jobs worked on directly, the 4s boasts a speedier A5 chip, improved 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, and — most significantly — Apple’s new AI virtual assistant, Siri.
Steve Jobs leaves an enduring legacy at Apple. Portrait: Jeremy Martin
October 5, 2011: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies at the age of 56 in his home in Palo Alto, California.
Jobs’ official cause of death is respiratory arrest arising from complications related to a rare type of pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer eight years earlier, and officially stepped down from his role as Apple CEO in August 2011, just weeks before his death.
Apple envisioned an AI helper like Siri way back in the late 1980s. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
October 4, 2011: With the unveiling of the iPhone 4s, Apple introduces the world to Siri. A groundbreaking example of artificial intelligence in action, the Siri launch fulfills a long-term dream at Apple.
In fact, the company first predicted such a feature in the 1980s — with Siri’s debut coming at almost the exact month Apple envisioned.
Apple faced big challenges during the Michael Spindler era. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
October 3, 1994: Apple CEO Michael Spindler reassures the world that Apple “is not a lame-duck company.”
Why would anyone suspect that it is? The answer lies in collapsing Mac sales, massive layoffs and Apple’s $188 million quarterly loss. At 15 months into his stint as CEO, Spindler wants to reassure everyone that the worst is over.
Sadly, things will decline further before they start to turn around.
While the iPhone 4s name and other key details leaked, Siri remained a surprise. Photo: Apple
October 1, 2011: Just days before Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 4s, the device’s name leaks after the latest iTunes beta inadvertently spills the beans.
The code also reveals that Apple’s new handset will come in black and white color options.
Logic Pro 7 was a great music creation tool for Apple fans. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
September 29, 2004: Apple launches Logic Pro 7, its professional music creation and audio production software. The update brings new tools and a streamlined interface in line with other Apple software.
“From beginners to pros, Apple is broadening the market with a complete line of music creation and production tools,” says Rob Schoeben, Apple’s VP of applications marketing, in a press release. “With Logic Pro 7, we’re taking professional music creation to the next level with the industry’s most advanced feature set for pro audio.”
Do you remember when Apple told us all to think different? Photo: Apple
September 28, 1997: Apple debuts its iconic “Think Different” ad campaign. The television commercial aligns the troubled computer company with some of history’s most celebrated freethinking rebels.
The most famous tagline in Apple history, “Think Different” doesn’t just articulate how Cupertino differs from its competitors. It also highlights how Apple, under the leadership of CEO Steve Jobs, will forge a future far different from its floundering, money-losing days of the early 1990s.
The war over the Macintosh's soul started on this day in 1979. Photo: Apple
September 27, 1979: Years before the Macintosh will ship, Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin clash for the first time over the direction of the R&D project to produce Apple’s revolutionary computer. Raskin, the founder of the Macintosh project, wants to produce a machine that’s affordable for everyone. Apple co-founder Jobs wants a computer that’s going to be the best, regardless of price.
Remember when Apple used to lose money? Photo: Apfelike
September 26, 1997: In one of his first tasks after returning to Apple as interim CEO, Steve Jobs reveals the company’s massive quarterly loss of $161 million. It’s Apple’s biggest loss ever.
Giving investors the bad news is miserable, but things are about to change dramatically for Cupertino.
Cupertino sums up "Apple Values" in an exuberant document. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
September 23, 1981: Years before Steve Jobs would tell us to “think different” and Tim Cook would say Apple should act as a “force for good,” Cupertino lays out what it calls its “Apple Values.” This mission statement will guide the company for years.
In the memo, management defines Apple Values as “the qualities, customs, standards and principles that the company as a whole regards as desirable. They are the basis for what we do and how we do it. Taken together, they identify Apple as a unique company.”
Google and Apple were friends at first. It didn't last. Photo: Google/Apple
September 21, 1999: A little startup called Google comes out of beta, with the launch of a website that will let the general public easily search the internet for information.
To Apple, which is embracing the internet with its colorful new iMac desktop computer and iBook laptop, Google seems like the perfect ally. Sadly, the relationship between the two companies won’t remain rosy for long.