Months before Apple’s iPhone went on sale in June 2007, a little after Steve Jobs unveiled the “Jesus Phone” in January 2007, Apple’s CEO paid a visit to The Wall Street Journal‘s headquarters, packed more than two dozen editors and reporters to offer a sneak peek, when someone asked about its durability.
Jobs’ response: tossing the prerelease model he held into the air toward the center of the room, eliciting a small gasp and then hushed silence as it hit the (carpeted) floor.
The memory underscores the lengths Jobs went to in order to make an impression.
As a telecom reporter based in New York, I rarely got the chance to attend Apple events, including the Macworld at which Jobs unveiled the iPhone. But my beat meant I was invited to attend this private session with other editors and reporters at the Journal.
While the phone in his hand was more polished than the original, buggy prototype he showed off at Macworld, knowing now just how prone to issues those early units were makes his nonchalant toss even more impressive. Imagine how disastrous it would’ve been if that iPhone had broken or shut down in front of so many journalists.
The phone, of course, survived unscathed — that carpeted floor likely the saving grace. His staff distributed a handful of other test units for us to play with. Picture two dozen dressed-up and professional journalists breaking out into small groups and circling the phones like schoolchildren around new toys, then moving in to swipe, pinch and otherwise test out that then-revolutionary capacitive touchscreen.
MacDailyNews Take: Steve Jobs, a true visionary (we’re still waiting for the next one) who also understood the merits of carpeted drop tests.
Perhaps it was to make an impression, or perhaps the indomitable will of genius was answering in as few words as possible so lowly journalist minds could comprehend.
I’ll never stop missing Steve. What a genius.
Observing the man who could think and feel with profound results….
“Steve was concerned with the nature and quality of his own thinking. He expected a lot from himself and worked hard to think with rare vitality, grace, and discipline. His rigor and tenacity set a dizzyingly high bar. When he couldn’t think satisfactorily, he complained the same way I complained about my knees.
As thoughts turned into ideas, tentative and fragile though they were, he recognized that this was sacred ground. He had such a deep understanding and reverence for the creative process. He understood that creation should be exceptionally respected, not just when the ideas were good or the circumstances were right.”
Copied from an article referencing Ives memories of working with Steve, Next week marks 10 yrs since his passing. Originally in the NYT:
https://onlineteachingjobs.site/2021/10/04/jony-ive-talks-about-what-he-misses-most-about-steve-jobs/
The genius of Steve Jobs was his ability to step into the shoes of other people, (who are not geniuses) and see the world through their eyes. Most people are not geniuses, or even particularly smart. But those “more typical” people make up the bulk of Apple’s customers. Most “smart” people are not geniuses; they only see through their own eyes… This increasingly self-centered point-of-view is why we now live in such a polarized society, controlled by extremists, not less selfish moderates willing to compromise for the good of the whole.
He certainly knew what I wanted, before I knew I wanted it.
Oh how I miss Steve Jobs. I think today he might toss Tim Cook across the room. With no carpeting.
I remember having that hot little phone in my hands the first week of its release. I was, at that point, living in the future while everyone around me was using the past. If I could only go back in time to tell myself to buy 2, and leave one in the box!