Skip to Main Content
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Steve Jobs Worked on Upcoming iPhones, Exec Says

The legacy of the late Steve Jobs appears to live on as one executive has let slip that upcoming iPhones were overseen by the late Apple co-founder.

April 2, 2013
steve jobs

Because Apple is renowned as one of the most secretive companies in technology, any small tidbit of information regarding future products, whether leaked or rumored, is analyzed in exhaustive detail. However, despite its culture of keeping its plans close to the vest, every once in a while an Apple executive lets something slip that offers a clear vision of what the company has up its sleeve.

Such appears to be the case thanks to testimony from the company's government liaison that hints that the late Steve Jobs's product road map may still be what's driving the company.

According to a report in the San Francisco Examiner, Apple's Michael Foulkes said during testimony about device kill switch technology that development of the next two generations iPhones preceded current CEO Tim Cook.

The remark is a clear indication that the late Jobs oversaw the development of upcoming iPhone models, the first of which is rumored to debut sometime this fall. This long product road map, extending nearly two years after Jobs's death, will come as no surprise to longtime Apple fans. Those familiar with Jobs's history are well acquainted with his penchant for being a bit of a control freak when it comes to nearly any detail concerning the company's image and product line.

However, for a market that has in recent months appeared all too ready to declare Apple's successful reign over, this revelation will likely cause some to reconsider the notion that the company has lost its magical luster under the direction of Tim Cook. Fueling those sentiments has been recent talk of an upcoming low-cost iPhone model. Modifying the iPhone to cater to the cost-conscious is a strategy that many believe Jobs—who historically favored design and function over budget concerns—would have avoided, even in the face mounting competition from cheaper Android smartphone alternatives. Cook, however, has not exactly endorsed a low-cost iPhone.

Whether Apple's upcoming plans represent a strict, multi-year plan directly from Jobs, or a blend of the founder's vision with Cook's reportedly more pragmatic approach, is unclear. What is clear, even through the opaque veil of Apple secrecy, is that the Jobs' direct influence will live on at the company.

For more on this see Steve Jobs Is Not Dead. Also check out PCMag's look back at Jobs's life and career.

Like What You're Reading?

Sign up for Fully Mobilized newsletter to get our top mobile tech stories delivered right to your inbox.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.


Thanks for signing up!

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!

Sign up for other newsletters

TRENDING