Steve Jobs, the billionaire co-founder of Apple, has died in California at the age of 56.
Jobs was the mastermind behind a whole empire of products that revolutionised computing, mobile phones and the music industry and had stepped down in August as chief executive of the company he helped set up in 1976 as a result of illness.
He had been battling an unusual form of pancreatic cancer and had received a liver transplant in 2009. In his letter of resignation, Jobs wrote: “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”
Jobs’ family said in a statement: “[Jobs] died peacefully today surrounded by his family. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief.” He is survived by his wife Laurene and four children.
Jobs founded Apple with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, and the pair marketed what was considered the first ever personal computer, the Apple II.
After a boardroom battle in 1985, Jobs was ousted from the company and went on to buy The Graphics Group, which was later renamed Pixar, which created hits such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo.
He returned to Apple in 1996 when they bought his company NeXT Computer and went on to form one of the most formidable companies in the world. The success of the iPod revolutionised the music industry and then came the iPhone which transformed how the world uses mobile phone technology.
Jobs’ visions came to fruition without the aid of focus groups. He once said: “For something this complicated, it’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show them.”
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