Tim Cook honours Steve Jobs on fourth anniversary of his death
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       Tim Cook has asked Apple staff to honour the late Steve Jobs on the fourth anniversary of his death, urging them to stop each other to "ask what he was really like".
      
      
       In an internal email to staff seen by The Telegraph, chief executive Cook paid tribute to his former leader and "dear friend", stating that messages and drawings from Jobs' children were still displayed on Jobs' office whiteboard at Apple's Californian headquarters.
      
      
       "Steve was a brilliant person, and his priorities were very simple," he wrote. "He loved his family above all, he loved Apple, and he loved the people with whom he worked so closely and achieved so much.
      
      
        
         "I was in his office over the summer with Laurene and their youngest daughter. Messages and drawings from his kids to their father are still there on Steve’s whiteboard."- Tim Cook
        
        
        
       
      
       "What is his legacy? I see it all around us: An incredible team that embodies his spirit of innovation and creativity. The greatest products on earth, beloved by customers and empowering hundreds of millions of people around the world. Soaring achievements in technology and architecture," he continued. "Experiences of surprise and delight. A company that only he could have built. A company with an intense determination to change the world for the better."
      
      
       Jobs was born on February 24 1955 and co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976, and is widely recognised as one of the world's most innovative technological thinkers and cult leadership figures, with an unwavering commitment to perfectionism. Under Jobs' leadership, Apple's keynote product and software presentations became renowned for their sense of showmanship, where Jobs often used his signature phrase "One more thing..." before revealing something memorable.
      
      
        He died of complications related to pancreatic cancer aged 56 on October 5 2011, prompting worldwide vigils outside Apple stores and an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow technology figureheads alike.
       
      
       
       
       
       
        
         
         
         
         
         
        
        
       
      
      
       Tributes left outside Apple stores following the announcement of Jobs' death in 2011
      
      
       "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius and the world has lost an amazing human being,” the company said in a statement at the time. “Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives.”
      
      
       "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it," said US president Barack Obama in a statement.
      
      
       
       
       
       
        
         
         
         
         
         
        
        
       
      
      
       Friend and rival Bill Gates said the world had "lost a visionary". "Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives," he said. "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 honour."
      
      
       
       
       
       
        
         
         
         
         
         
        
        
       
      
      
       Cook has previously said that Jobs' office in Apple's 1 Infinite Loop headquarters in California had been left "exactly like it was" as a form of memorial.
      
      
       The anniversary of Jobs' death comes as director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin prepare to release their Steve Jobs blockbuster biopic on October 9.
      
      
      
       Cook has dismissed the portrayal of Jobs in the film and recent documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine as "opportunistic".
      
      
        Former Apple chief executive John Sculley has similarly said that Jobs has been misrepresented in popular culture.
       
      
       
        Tim Cook's email to Apple staff in full
       
      
      
       
       
       
       
        
         
         
         
         
         
        
        
       
      
      
      
       Today marks four years since Steve passed away. On that day, the world lost a visionary. We at Apple lost a leader, a mentor, and many of us lost a dear friend. 
      
      
       Steve was a brilliant person, and his priorities were very simple. He loved his family above all, he loved Apple, and he loved the people with whom he worked so closely and achieved so much. 
      
      
       Each year since his passing, I have reminded everyone in the Apple community that we share the privilege and responsibility of continuing the work Steve loved so much. 
      
      
       What is his legacy? I see it all around us: An incredible team that embodies his spirit of innovation and creativity. The greatest products on earth, beloved by customers and empowering hundreds of millions of people around the world. Soaring achievements in technology and architecture. Experiences of surprise and delight. A company that only he could have built. A company with an intense determination to change the world for the better. 
      
      
       And, of course, the joy he brought his loved ones. 
      
      
       He told me several times in his final years that he hoped to live long enough to see some of the milestones in his children’s lives. I was in his office over the summer with Laurene and their youngest daughter. Messages and drawings from his kids to their father are still there on Steve’s whiteboard. 
      
      
       If you never knew Steve, you probably work with someone who did or who was here when he led Apple. Please stop one of us today and ask what he was really like. Several of us have posted our personal remembrances on AppleWeb, and I encourage you to read them. 
      
      
       Thank you for honoring Steve by continuing the work he started, and for remembering both who he was and what he stood for. 
      
      
      
     