The new CEO Tim Cook broke the news of his demise to Apple staffs through a letter which reads,
Team,
I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
We are planning a celebration of Steve's extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.
No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.
Tim
Tributes have since been pouring from leaders and tech luminaries :
Jobs "exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity," President Barack Obama said in a statement.
"Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last," Obama said. "Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history, he changed the way each of us sees the world."
"From the earliest days of Google (GOOG), whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no farther than Cupertino," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said in a statement. "Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the macbook I am writing this on right now)."
He added: "On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much."
Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg both thanked Jobs for mentoring them. Page said Jobs contacted him after he took over Google earlier this year.
"He was very kind to reach out to me ... and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well," Page said in a post on Google+. "He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me."
"Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world," Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook. "I will miss you."
Others outside of the tech industry also publicly mourned Jobs' passing. In a statement released by Disney, company CEO Bob Iger called Jobs, who served on Disney's board, a "great friend and trusted advisor."
"His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined," Iger said in the statement. "Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started."
California Governor Jerry Brown called Jobs a "great California innovator."
Jobs "demonstrated what a totally independent and creative mind can accomplish," Brown said in a statement. "Few people have made such a powerful and elegant imprint on our lives."
Jobs led the company from its founding in 1976 until he was forced out in a leadership struggle in 1985. He returned to the company in 1996, when Apple bought Next, the computing company that Jobs founded after he left Apple. With Apple teetering on bankruptcy, Jobs assumed control of the company the following year, first as its interim CEO, then as its full-time one.
During his first tenure at Apple, Jobs helped develop the original Apple I and Apple II computers, then worked on the Macintosh, the first mass-market computer with a graphical user interface. Although the Mac never dominated the industry, its basic mouse-and-virtual desktop interface became the standard way of interacting with PCs.
Once he returned to Apple, Jobs helped lead the company's amazing resurrection. The company went from being within months of bankruptcy in 1997 to vying this year for the title of most valuable company in the world.
The company's rebound was driven initially by the iPod music player and the iTunes software and store, which together offered consumers a legitimate and easy way to buy and listen to digital music. More recently, the company has had huge hits with its iPhone smartphone and iPad tablet computer.
Even as Apple's stock soared along with its parade of product hits, worries over Jobs' lingering health problems continued. And with each new medical leave, concerns mounted that Jobs' days as head of the company he co-founded in 1976 would soon be over. A recent report in Fortune magazine said that Jobs started thinking seriously about stepping down as CEO in late July, according to people close to him, because returning full time to Apple was increasingly doubtful.
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