Joe Wilcox argues Apple should have delayed the iPhone 4S out of respect for Steve Jobs
“Did Google and Samsung do what Apple wouldn’t?“, asks Joe Wilcox. As you might have heard, Samsung/Google pulled the Nexus Prime announcement, arguing it was “just not the right time”. I wondered if other reasons were behind the delay, but the two companies later confirmed:
We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs’s passing.
Of course, this might still be misdirection to deal with some other problem with the device, but anyway.
Wilcox argues, bizarrely, that Apple should have done the same thing with the iPhone 4S:
So what? Google and Samsung show respect for Jobs, but Apple doesn’t?
Apple announced iPhone 4S on October 4. A day later, the company revealed that Jobs, Apple’s chairman and until late-August its CEO, had died. The world is mourning the loss of one of the rarest of humans — a true visionary who compelled loyalty among the people closest to him and those who used Apple’s products, in part by aspiring for something better. How does Apple remember Jobs? By keeping business as usual.
News of Jobs death came late-day on October 5. My colleagues and I couldn’t really discuss it until the following day. When everyone was online in group chat I chimed: “Now comes the test of the new management’s character. I would delay iPhone 4S launch a week out of respect”.
If that’s really what Wilcox chimed, he doesn’t get Apple and he didn’t get Jobs. Steve Jobs was hugely proud of everything he achieved at Apple. The iPhone 4S is one of the last things that will have his direct involvement. Delaying its release and therefore potentially hampering its success, to mourn Jobs, would have not been respectful but an insult to the man. More to the point, Jobs remained involved with all things Apple right to the end. Does anyone really believe that Jobs himself wasn’t pushing the rest of the team to go ahead with the launch, regardless of his health?
[The] assertion that “business is business” is bunk. Google and Samsung show respect for Jobs’ passing in ways the Apple hasn’t — and should have. The new management has failed the test of character I put before my colleagues two days ago.
Absolute garbage. The best way to show respect for Jobs is to celebrate his life and to ensure the company he rebuilt continues to thrive. The way Apple can do that is by ensuring the latest thing he worked on is a success, and you don’t do that by shutting down.
Also, it’s hardly like Apple is entirely without heart. There can’t be too many companies that would remove everything from their website’s home page—including details about their shiny new product—in order to present a picture of their late visionary. But perhaps in his desire to bash Apple and its management team, Wilcox has failed to visit apple.com at any time since Steve Jobs died.
Come on it’s time to let Steve Jobs go now. There’s been acres of coverage on his life’s achievements and there’s nothing to add to all that has been said and written. As I’m sure Jobs himself would have said, The show must go on!
I’ve read in a couple of places that Jobs was well aware his time was running critically short in the last couple of weeks. This means he would have had time to plan these things; indeed he would have left very specific instructions of how to handle the launch.
I’ve actually heard a theory that he may have died earlier but left instructions not to announce it so as to derail the iPhone announcement. I’m not so sure about that one (no evidence to support it) but it does sound like something he would want.
My theory (hey, it’s worth as much as everyone else’s crap) is he was pushing himself on until he’d seen a launch done without him. I hope he went out comfortable he’d left things in good hands, but either way, I’d think the last thing he’d have wanted was to miss the launch.
I was touched about Samsung putting back their own launch. Sure, there might have been other reasons, and maybe it was a completely cynical and calculated move, but it worked on me 🙂
“We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs’s passing.”
Astute wording by Samsung/Google, but I don’t think they did this out of respect. It was not the “right time” because everybody was reporting about Steve Jobs’ passing and it’s difficult to attract the attention of the press with a new phone when such a prominent figure just died. Your product tend to be overlooked: « Yeah, nice enough phone. But I’m covering Steve Jobs’ death right now. Come back next week, okay? »
We’re speculating that Google and Samsung’s delay may have been for reasons other than respect. If Apple had postponed the launch too, we’d be suspecting the same of Apple.
Delaying products doesn’t seem particularly respectful to me — but I don’t think it’s disrespectful either.
I can’t object to people postponing announcements when the media’s attention is elsewhere. What’s the point in talking when nobody’s listening?
@Adam
think you’re being too cynical if you believe Samsung/Google postponed the launch because they were afraid of not being able to attract enough attention.
there was plenty of coverage at the end of last week, and this was only a day or two after Steve Jobs died. check any of the technology blogs – they all covered the video and image leak of the new Nexus.
I may very well be wrong. It wasn’t even meant as criticism because if I was a competitor, preparting to unveil a new smartphone, I would have postponed the launch to ensure maximum media attention.