The great Steve Jobs changed technology in many ways but the Apple revolution had a long way to go in his eyes. One product jobs wanted to develop was the iCar. Get some insight on jobs vision after the jump.
The late Steve Jobs reportedly had ideas for redesigning all sorts of things beyond the computers and gadgets Apple makes—including yachts, staircases, and even the medical equipment he saw up close from his hospital bed.
But the iconic tech visionary’s biggest dream before his death last year was to put the Apple stamp on an automobile, according to Mickey Drexler, CEO of J. Crew and an Apple board member.
“Look at the car industry. It’s a tragedy in America. Who is designing the cars? Steve’s dream before he died was to design an iCar,” Drexler said during a recent talk at Fast Company’s Innovation Uncensored conference (see video below).
Jobs never designed such a car, let alone built one. But if he had, “it would’ve been probably 50 percent of the market,” Drexler said, perhaps only partially in jest.
Another product category that consumed quite a bit of Jobs’ attention during his last few months was television. In his best-selling biography, Walter Isaacson reported that Jobs believed he had “cracked the secret” to a successful Apple TV and Drexler seemed to confirm that the company will have something new in store on that front very soon.
“You know, Apple has 10 products,” he said at the Fast Company event. “The living room, they’re dealing with at some point in the near future.”
Earlier this month, it was rumored that Apple supplier Foxconn was “gearing up” to produce the first ever stand-alone Apple TV set, but Taiwan-based Foxconn later distanced itself from those rumors.
Drexler also quipped that he wouldn’t want to be in current Apple CEO Tim Cook’s shoes because following such successful leader can be a rough business.
“The best job to have: Take over a company that’s doing poorly. Never take over a company that’s doing great. You know, I love Tim Cook, but I wouldn’t want his job,” he said.
