Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed work on the the newly-launched Apple Watch began after the passing of the firm’s visionary co-founder Steve Jobs.
Speaking to ABC News following the keynote in Cupertino, Cook said that although the new wearable was not Jobs’ idea, his quest for perfection continues to run through all Apple products.
“We started working on it after his passing, but his DNA runs through all of us, so the foundation he left you can see in all the things we’re doing today and the way we look at things,” Cook said.
“To me it’s not a big deal whether he say something or he didn’t, it’s his thinking or his taste and his incredible perfectionism and his view that you should always innovate… all of those things are alive and well in the company and they always will be and I think his DNA will always be the foundation of Apple.”
The Apple Watch of course is the first new product category Apple has entered in the post-Jobs era.
Many observers had claimed the firm would struggle to maintain the same laser-focused innovative ability without Jobs, who had such a knack for recognising the future needs of tech fans and consumers. Although it’s early days, the Apple Watch appears to prove those doubters wrong.
Cook gave his address to Apple dignitaries and the media on Tuesday on the same stage that Jobs revealed the first Apple Macintosh computer 30 years ago in 1984.
The hand-picked successor believes Jobs, who passed away following a long struggle with pancreatic cancer in 2011, would be proud of the progress Apple had made in his absence.
“I think about Steve a lot. I love Steve dearly and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him.
“This morning being here, I especially thought about him and I think he would be incredibly proud to see the company which he left us, which I think was one of his greatest gifts to mankind, doing what is doing today. I think he’s smiling right now.”
What do you think Steve Jobs would make of Apple today? Are his hallmarks evident within the iWatch as Tim Cook intimates? Let us know your thoughts below.
Read more: Opinion: I want an Apple Watch, but do I need one?
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
