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Will Apple be the same? Of course not

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who is standing down due to ill health. Photograph: Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images

From Wall Street to Tokyo, it's the question on everyone's lips: Will Apple be the same without Steve Jobs? Don't be daft: of course it won't. Jobs is the strategic visionary behind a suite of products that have taken the world by storm and propelled Apple's share price to a level which, briefly, made it the most valuable company in the world. Small wonder the company's stock fell on news Jobs was standing down as chief executive, while the price of Asian rivals such as Samsung and HTC Corporation shot ahead.

Has the world forgotten how Apple was on its knees in the mid-1990s, with analysts giving it little more than six months to live? It was only when Jobs returned to head the company he helped to found in the 1970s that its star began to rise again, as its leader moved into his most creative phase, unveiling the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and launching the iTunes music store to the delight of consumers around the globe.

The Apple mystique and a powerful brand name have enabled it to enjoy profit margins that are twice as fat as those of competitors. Few people in the technology industry can rival Jobs in sensing how products should look and feel, or what will sell. Apple products have been able to command premium prices because they are pleasing to the eye and easy to use

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