In an article posted to All Things D today, Walt Mossberg, a journalist that Steve Jobs has referred to as a ‘friend of Apple’, states that Jobs will remain involved in major products and company strategy in his new position as Chairman. The article comes after Jobs announced his resignation from Apple’s board today.
In the article Mossberg states that Jobs is seriously ill, but that he won’t step down his active involvement in major projects.
To be very clear, Mr. Jobs, while seriously ill, is very much alive. Extremely well-informed sources at Apple say he intends to remain involved in developing major future products and strategy and intends to be an active chairman of the board, even while new CEO Tim Cook runs the company day to day.
Mossberg even drops a hint about what those ‘major future products’ might be at the end of the article, saying that “rumors are rife that Apple is working on re-inventing another common device: the TV,” and that “nobody should be surprised if it happens, just based on Mr. Jobs’ track record.”
Mossberg’s sources are usually well placed and if they state that Jobs will be involved in future products then you can bet he will. This fits in with Jobs’ previous absences for health reasons, during which he has remained very much in control of the overall direction of the company.
Still, as Mossberg says, “his health is reported to be up and down, and even an active chairman isn’t the same as a CEO.”
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Regardless of how involved Jobs is or isn’t, he’s left Apple in good hands with COO Tim Cook and a top-flight staff of engineers and exectives that have all been instructed in the ‘Apple way’. This is the end of an era for sure, but it is also the beginning of another.
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