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Jobs left future plans for next-generation Apple products

According to reports, Steve Jobs laid out plans to enable the popular iOS, iPod and MacBook products to continue "for years".
Written by Zack Whittaker, Contributor

Reports suggest sources close to Apple have spoken of Steve Jobs' plans to leave the company he founded in good hands, by preparing blueprints of updates to the popular iPod, iOS devices and MacBook line of products "for years" after his death.

Speaking to a British newspaper, sources said Steve Jobs worked on the future of the products he helped design and shape in a bid to safeguard the future of his company.

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(Source: Andrew Burton/Getty Images/AFP)

Jobs was also overseeing work on iCloud, in order to future-proof the company against cloud computing competitors, and to enable the company to put into play more advanced technologies which center around the cloud and online experience.

His involvement may be remembered for some, citing those close to him who worked on the failed MobileMe project, who once quoted Jobs' scathing put-down to employees; fair to say one of his not-so finest hours.

One research group spoke to the Boston Herald, explaining how others should "not be surprised" by Jobs' plans, along with Apple's 'think ahead' strategy. Noting that the iPad's design was registered in 2004 but not introduced to the market until six years later in 2010, it shows Apple's ability to think far ahead into the future, rather than "only a quarter or two in advance".

Along the way, his appearance only two months to Cupertino City Council before his resignation in August, stepping down as chief executive as a result of declining health, to set in motion the approval for plans for the next Apple campus.

Dubbed Apple Campus 2, or the 'Cupertino Spaceship', it will hold 12,000 employees in a grand park setting near the existing buildings on One Infinite Loop, and will cover 3.1 million square feet of space to house the donut-shaped building.

Only the day before Jobs died, Tim Cook, Apple's new chief executive, announced the company's fifth generation smartphone, the iPhone 4S.

Despite looking identical to the existing iPhone 4, and receiving poor outlooks from analysts who called the announcement "disappointing", sales have soared through the roof, pushing back expected shipping dates to one to two weeks.

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