Steve Jobs' death from pancreatic cancer meant the end of an era after the Apple founder's loss
Steve Jobs' death from pancreatic cancer marked the end of an era at Apple. The founder's legacy includes the company's best-seller: the iPhone.
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Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011, of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. In a statement released then, Apple said Jobs' "brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."
Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976 but left the company in 1985, according to the Library of Congress. Jobs returned in 1996 and served as Apple CEO until 2011, when he resigned two months before his death.
Jobs' leadership saw the launch of many iconic Apple products, including the iMac, iBook, iPod, Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad, and many others.
On the 10th anniversary of Jobs' death in 2021, Apple released a video on its website commemorating the cofounder.
The video, which Jobs narrates, includes photos of the former CEO and clips of internal conversations and Apple events where products were launched.
How did Steve Jobs die?
Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, but he didn't start sharing the news with Apple employees until a year later.
In 2009, he received a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Jobs' pancreatic cancer relapsed in 2011, and he stepped down as Apple CEO in August of that year, when he accepted the role of chairman. He died on October 5, 2011; he'd worked for Apple until the day before his death. Jobs was 56.
Tim Cook took over as CEO after Jobs' resignation. He's called Jobs' death "one of the saddest days of my life."
What happened at Apple after Steve Jobs died?
Cook has been Apple's CEO since 2011. Since then, Apple's biggest product launch has been the Apple Watch, which is used by more than 100 million people worldwide, including many US iPhone users.
The company also released AirPods, but the third-generation hasn't sold well, prompting the company to announce a redesign.
In June 2023, Apple debuted its artificial intelligence "mixed-reality" headset, Vision Pro. It's expected to be released in 2024 and sell for about $3,500.
The iPhone, first released in 2007 under Jobs, has accounted for most of Apple's revenue, according to the book "After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul" by Tripp Mickle. The book also suggests that the company hasn't released a "truly breakthrough new product" since Jobs' death.
Apple became the first US company to reach a $2 trillion valuation in 2020. In 2023, Apple's market cap peaked at $3.1 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.