Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Steven P. Jobs on stage at an Apple event in June.8:24 p.m. | Updated See our full obituary of Mr. Jobs.
8:54 p.m. | Updated Adding reaction from Apple Store visitors in San Francisco.
Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder and former chief executive of Apple, has died at 56.
Apple said in a press release that it was “deeply saddened” to announce that Mr. Jobs had passed away on Wednesday.
“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives,” the company said. “The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.
Mr. Jobs stepped down from the chief executive role in late August, saying he could no longer fulfill his duties, and became chairman. He underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004, and received a liver transplant in 2009.
Rarely has a major company and industry been so dominated by a single individual, and so successful. His influence went far beyond the iconic personal computers that were Apple’s principal product for its first 20 years. In the last decade, Apple has redefined the music business through the iPod, the cellphone business through the iPhone and the entertainment and media world through the iPad. Again and again, Mr. Jobs gambled that he knew what the customer would want, and again and again he was right.
The early years of Apple long ago passed into legend: the two young hippie-ish founders, Mr. Jobs and Steve Wozniak; the introduction of the first Macintosh computer in 1984, which stretched the boundaries of what these devices could do; Mr. Jobs’s abrupt exit the next year in a power struggle. But it was his return to Apple in 1996 that started a winning streak that raised the company from the near-dead to its current position of strength.
Bill Gates, the former chief executive of Microsoft, said in a statement that he was “truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’s death.” He added: “The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”
Mr. Jobs’s family released a statement that said: “Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family. In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve’s illness; a Web site will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.”
By 5:30 p.m. California time, police in Palo Alto had blocked off all streets leading to Mr. Jobs’s house, whose address is easily available online.
At the Apple store near Union Square in San Francisco, Steve Prescott, 46, said he came over from a technology conference expecting something like the gatherings after John Lennon was killed. “I was interested in being in a collective recognition of him,” he said. “Maybe it won’t happen. That’s O.K.”
Instead, the shop was humming with buyers huddled over tablets and phones, and salespeople explaining how many gigabytes were in an iPad.
Mr. Prescott said he would always remember where he was on the day Mr. Jobs died. “For one person to have that impact is inspiring and humbling at the same time,” he said. He added that he got an Apple II computer in 1981, and when it broke down he wrote a letter to Mr. Jobs and got a new one in the mail.
Vansi Gadey, 30, a designer who works at a large technology company, was visiting the store to charge his phone. He said: “I’m from India. In my childhood, Gandhi was an inspiration. After that, it’s been Steve Jobs.”
Mr. Gadey said he began following Mr. Jobs’s life and career as he made a career switch himself from engineer to designer. His phone had been ringing with family and friends asking how he was taking the news.
Burt Miller, 56, was on his way to an Apple store in San Francisco to pick up some parts when his wife called to tell him that Mr. Jobs had died. He said he was “crushed.” Mr. Miller, who works in construction, said he had followed the presentation of the new iPhone the day before and was convinced that Mr. Jobs did too. “I think he saw it and knew Apple was going to make it and he let go,” he said.
On the home page of Apple’s site, product images were replaced with a black-and-white photo of Mr. Jobs.
Read our obituary of Mr. Jobs and share your thoughts about him and his legacy in the comments below.
Somini Sengupta, David Streitfeld and Felicity Barringer contributed reporting.