Apple Corporate

We all knew this day was coming, but it was still a huge shock when Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs announced on Wednesday that he is resigning his role as CEO. Saying, "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."

So he's stepping out of that role, and becoming chairman of the board at Apple. Tim Cook, Apple's COO, will take his place as CEO. This is a major shift. Apple, to many people, is Steve Jobs. But in reality, Apple is also designer Jonathan Ive, logistics expert Tim Cook (now CEO), iOS lead Scott Forstall, and nearly 50,000 other employees.

We're going to talk today about the future of Apple under its new leadership, with three great guests from CNET: Josh Lowensohn, Jay Greene, and Brian Cooley.

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Apple's manufacturing partners expect their relationships with the iPhone maker to remain strong, even though there's a new CEO at the company.

In a statement yesterday, Taiwan-based manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision Industry, said that it expects its relationship with Apple to become even closer under the new leadership. That sentiment was echoed by DigiTimes sources at Apple suppliers, who said that they don't anticipate any order changes to come about.

Earlier this week, Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple. In a resignation letter to the board, Jobs recommended his chief operating officer Tim Cook assume … Read more

Editor's note: This story was co-written by CNET staffers Donald Bell, Greg Sandoval, Josh Lowensohn, Kent German, and Scott Stein.

Most Apple watchers figure very little will change at Steve Jobs' company over the next few years. There's plenty of product plans in the works and his executive team--with a few exceptions--looks set for the next few years.

The real question is what happens after that, when the plans that will be made without Jobs in Apple's corner office begin to bear fruit, or languish.

The company, which has grown to become the second-most valuable in the … Read more

For most companies, the chief executive serves as a quarterback, ensuring the plays are run correctly, while the chairman is the coach, providing the bigger-picture view.

Or, for the geeks out there, the CEO is Luke Skywalker to the chairman's Yoda.

It's unclear what Steve Jobs' role will exactly be as chairman. The Star Wars analogy may be apt in that Jobs could dispense his sagely advice to CEO Tim Cook. Or the chairman position could be the first step to his eventual departure from the company.

The role of chairman has evolved over the past few years, … Read more

In the first day of trading following Steve Jobs' decision to step down as CEO of Apple, his company's stock is hardly feeling the effects.

As of this writing, Apple's shares are hovering at around $369.04, down 1.9 percent from yesterday's closing price of $376.18.

Steve Jobs announced his decision to step down as Apple's CEO last night. In a letter to Apple's board of directors and the public, Jobs said that he could no longer perform his duties as CEO, and recommended that he take over as chairman and his chief … Read more

Apple will keep cranking out a steady stream of "magical products" for the next few years despite the loss of Steve Jobs as chief executive.

Jobs has assembled a massive machine that shows little signs of slowing down. The Cupertino, Calif., company's product pipeline appears to be intact for the next several years, analysts say. In addition, Apple has a strong management team to guide those devices to market.

"Executives change, everything else stays the same," Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley said in a research note.

Jobs announced his resignation yesterday, but was simultaneously … Read more

Even if the company has been reluctant to discuss it and outsiders have a hard time imagining it, it's clear Apple has been preparing for a day when Steve Jobs would no longer be chief executive.

Since rejoining the company as part of Apple's acquisition of NeXT in 1996, Jobs has played a pivotal role in its turnaround from a company with an army of clone computers on the brink of bankruptcy to the second-most valuable in the world with gadgets people wait outside stores days to get. He's also been the company's chief spokesperson at … Read more

commentary There are many people who think the genius of Apple's design--perhaps the greatest of Steve Jobs' legacies--is in the fit and finish of the company's products. And the fact is, they're wrong.

There's no doubt that Apple makes beautiful objects. Its iPods, iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and the rest of its vaunted product portfolio have their own unique design language. They're sleek and trim. The company's creative and elegant use of materials remains untouched by its consumer electronics rivals. The look of the iPhone, defined by its a seamless pane of glass, its chrome … Read more

While many consumers today were imagining an Apple without Steve Jobs, industry leaders were publicly recognizing him for changing the face of personal computing and inspiring next-level gadget design.

Even if you don't use a Macintosh, iPhone, iPod, or iPad, the electronics you use have no doubt been influenced by products developed under Jobs' prolific reign as chief executive of Apple.

Shortly after Jobs announced today that he was resigning as Apple CEO, Bob Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3Com, wrote in a tweet that Jobs was "my hero."

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who initially left his company after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, wrote on Twitter that he wished Jobs the best "as he faces his health challenges" and called Jobs "one of one of the greatest innovators of our industry."

Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, said in an e-mail statement: "Steve is one of the industry's most gifted entrepreneurs, visionaries and creative minds, and has been one of AT&T's closest business partners for several years. We celebrate his accomplishments and wish him all the best. And we look forward to continuing to collaborate with Tim Cook and his team in enabling innovation in the mobile ecosystem."

Lowell McAdam, CEO of rival carrier Verizon, also weighed in via e-mail: "Steve Jobs changed wireless forever. He took our already vibrant sector, and with laser focus, injected compelling new competitive aspects to customer choice. Steve has been a fierce competitor, a dedicated strategic partner, and a visionary who has improved peoples' lives. Tim Cook will make an excellent CEO, continuing the traditions and performance culture Steve instilled at Apple. We look forward to building on the strong foundation Steve helped lay between Apple and Verizon." … Read more