We missed Steve Jobs ont the WWDC keynote. There were no “one more thing” this time but people had been badly missing it. Apple has now confirmed that Steve Jobs will resume his employment with the company at the end of June.
Jobs had been off work for several months because of an illness.
Tim Cook had stepped into the chief executive position during the absence of Mr. Jobs and is expected to keep that designation. It is anticipated that Jobs will once again assume the rank of chairman. The formal title is probably immaterial as Jobs tends to monitor all aspects of the company closely. During his sick leave, Jobs had continued to be a strong force in steering the company’s future.
As Mr. Jobs gets back to work, the outlook appears to be bright for Apple. Apple recently released a new web browser called Safari 4 which has already been downloaded by millions of users, and analysts have applauded Apple’s efforts to introduce more moderately priced products during the current decline in the economy. Apple appears to maintain a solid position in the industry.
Steve Jobs will return to work at Apple at the end of this month, it was confirmed today after a week in which analysts said that the company had proved it could manage very well without him.
The charismatic chief executive has been on sick leave for six months after losing weight dramatically due to a hormone imbalance last year.
“We look forward to Steve returning to Apple at the end of June,” an Apple spokesman said.
Mr Schiller set out the roadmap for rest of the year, launching a new faster iPhone with updated iPhone software, updating Apple’s line-up of MacBook Pro laptop computers and showcasing Apple’s new operating system.
While Apple stressed that Mr Jobs had been involved in the company’s strategic decisions behind the scenes, analysts predicted a successful future for the company, until now characterised by many as the “Steve Jobs Show”, even if he steps away from day-to-day decisions.
There is rising speculation that Mr Jobs may return to the post of chairman, continuing to act in a more strategic role. The job of chief executive has been carried out by Tim Cook, the company’s chief operating officer over the last six months, and many expect him to retain that role when Mr Jobs returns.
“We applaud Steve for passing on the baton and creating a culture of success. To us, the management transition is complete and there should be minimal concerns.”
Some analysts raised their earnings estimates after Apple said it was cutting the price of its entry-level 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G to $99 from $199 in the US. Apple also presented faster and lower-priced MacBook Pro laptops in a move designed to make its high-end products more accessible in the economic downturn.
Apple has sought to give the iPhone a huge lead in the smartphone market by giving consumers a huge range of applications to choose from the App Store. By introducing a payments system in the latest software for the iPhone, Apple has introduced another money-making stream for the company and developers to exploit. For instance games developers will be able to allow users to buy more features for their games using the iPhone, giving Apple a cut.
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