Who Is Apple Grooming as Steve’s Replacement?
UPDATE: It looks like Gizmodo, and Techmeme have both been thinking on the same track as I have been. They both have entries up for a fairly similar story. Go check out Jesus Diaz’s take on the keynote for more speculation over there.
As you’ve heard on just about every single news site online today (including this one), Apple today announced the replacements for it’s aging MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. They’re all aluminum and glass with gorgeous industrial design and a button free trackpad. In other words, they’re awesome. But while everyone was ogling the hardware, I noticed something a bit more interesting.
Something that made me ask myself a question.
“Are we seeing the grooming of Steve’s successor?” I think the answer was a strong yes. Who is it? Find out after the jump.
If you haven’t already seen it, I suggest you stop by the Apple site, and check out the video recap of the keynote by clicking here. I think it’s obvious after just a few minute that Apple wants to make the point that just for the purposes of the Stockholders, that Apple is not JUST Steve. They almost immediately brought out COO Tim Cook to do a part of the talk that Steve almost always handles, regarding the numbers of sales and marketshare. While he didn’t exactly hit it out of the ballpark, he was more than serviceable. So is HE the next Steve? Sort of. Chances are that he will end up as CEO when Steve leaves, but I think it’s unlikely that he’d take over the keynotes. He simply doesn’t have the passion to pull it off. He’s too much of a businessman.
So who would take the mantle of manning the Keynotes, and being the public “face” of Apple? I believe it’s the man they brought out to talk up the manufacturing process of these new Macs.
Jony Ive.
Ive is the lead of design at Apple, and he is the man who has led design on iconic products like the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone. If there is any man at Apple that is AS (if not more) important than Steve Jobs, it’s Ive. Not to mention the fact that he is the person with the most geek-cred among the all important tech bloggers. Anyone who really knows Apple knows just how important he is.
Now granted, he doesn’t yet quite have the stage presence of Steve (though who does?), but you can tell that he is genuinely interested in, and proud of the products he is talking about, and I think that is something that Apple will be looking for in a new face for the company.
The video that Steve ran near the end of the keynote sealed the deal for me. It showcased Ive and his passion for creating a really great product. He treated and presented the new MacBook like it was one of his beloved Aston Martins. I appreciate that.
The major thing we can all take away from this Stevenote, is that they aren’t Stevenotes anymore. Apple wants us all to know that while they appreciate everything Steve has done for the company, the fact is, he has put the right people in the right places to keep creating great products for years to come, Steve or no Steve.
October 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I agree – Ivy makes sense. I’ve always wondered who it would be, then I started thinking Ivy more and more. After the Stevenote, I feel my suspicions were confirmed.