Steve Jobs worked on Apple's 'next product' the day before he died
Softbank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son revealed in a recent interview that he was at Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters earlier this month for the unveiling of the iPhone 4S, according to PC Magazine. While there, he had a meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Cook had to abruptly leave the meeting with Son, which prompted the Softbank chief to ask where he was going. It was then that Cook reportedly revealed that he had received a call from Jobs.
"That was the day of the announcement of the iPhone 4S," Son said. "He said that Steve is calling me because he wants to talk about their next product. And the next day, he died."
Son didn't detail what product Jobs and Cook allegedly discussed, but his story has come to light after a financial analyst claimed Jobs was "intimately involved" in creating Apple's 2012 iPhone. Ashok Kumar with Rodman & Renshaw said that Jobs had input on everything from the device's concept to final design, and claimed that the next-generation iPhone will have a slimmer profile and larger screen.
Photo credit: Matt Yohe, via Wikipedia.
Jobs's apparent involvement in Apple products up until the day before he died came even though he was weak and in pain from pancreatic cancer. Author Walter Isaacson, who is writing Jobs's official biography, met with the Apple co-founder at his home weeks before his death, and found him curled up in pain in a downstairs bedroom, too weak to climb stairs. But Isaacson said his mind was "still sharp and his humor vibrant."
Jobs's devotion to Apple, the company he founded, has been well documented. In August, when he stepped down as CEO, Jobs was said to have worked a full day at Apple's headquarters on his final day as chief executive.
82 Comments
He loved it, clearly.
You don't see it much.
This is one reason why it irritates me when people knock Steve Jobs. If anything (which was a many of), his tenacity for better products was in his blood and soul, not just ego.
That was the day of the announcement of the iPhone 4S," Son said. "He said that Steve is calling me because he wants to talk about their next product. And the next day, he died."
Is it me or is saying Steve (or someone calling on Steve's behalf) needed to speak to Cook about an important work related simply a more common response than saying Steve is on his very ill, in the hospital, or on his deathbed. Maybe I'm cynical but I think Cook just gave Son the easy answer to get off the phone to deal with a personal matter.
Whether it's actually true or dramatically fabricated. I don't doubt it for a millisecond. Apple was his baby and it's obvious he was the doting father.
Sad, yet inspiring at the same time.