MacRumors

With Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook having been elevated to the position of CEO following Steve Jobs' resignation yesterday, a hole has been left in Apple's organizational structure. And while Cook has by all accounts deftly handled operational and other day-to-day aspects of Apple's business during Jobs' several medical leaves of absence, the company will likely at some point look to bring on a new Chief Operating Officer.

AllThingsD takes a look at the potential moves for Apple, judging current senior vice president of operations Jeff Williams as the most likely candidate. Hinting that Apple may have been beginning to deploy its succession plan as long as a year ago, Williams was promoted to his current position in July 2010 as Apple elevated his previous vice president-level position to an executive-level senior vice president position.

An Apple veteran, Williams has worked closely with Cook for over a decade and overseen some of the company’s major supply chain deals. It was Williams, for example, who orchestrated Apple’s massive flash memory purchase in 2005, one that effectively cornered the market for NAND flash and left rivals scrambling for supply. He’s also credited with leading wordlwide operations for the iPhone since the device first launched.

Williams joined Apple as head of worldwide procurement in 1998, arriving at nearly the same time as Tim Cook following Steve Jobs' return to the company. In 2004, Williams was promoted to the position of vice president of operations. At the time of his elevation to senior vice president, it was thought that Williams was being groomed to succeed Cook as COO should Cook take on the CEO role. Now that Cook's promotion has taken place, it seems natural that Williams might step into the COO role at whatever point Apple decides it needs to fill the position.

For its part, Apple hasn't commented on any potential future organizational changes, but insists that any transitions would be smooth.

Apple spokesperson Katie Cotton stopped short of denying further organization changes down the road, but she did insist the transition will be smooth.

“Apple is not going to change,” Cotton told AllThingsD. “Apple is a company and culture unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.”

Cook himself has expressed similar sentiments to Apple employees, embracing the new opportunity and promising to "stay true" to the culture and vision of Apple.

PCMag.com reports that Steve Jobs' authorized biography, initially slated for a March 2012 release but recently bumped up to a November 21st debut, will be updated to include details on his resignation as Apple CEO yesterday. The changes will not result in a delay for the book's release.

Publisher Simon & Schuster said the highly anticipated tell-all biography, written by acclaimed biographer Walter Isaacson, will include Wednesday night's announcement from Jobs' point of view.

Simon & Schuster spokeswoman Tracey Guest told PCMag that Isaacson "speaks to Jobs regularly and is still working on the final chapter of the book."

The biography, simply titled "Steve Jobs", is the first authorized look at Steve Jobs' life. It is being written by former Time managing editor Walter Isaacson and is based on over 40 interviews with Jobs and additional interviews with over 100 colleagues, friends, and family members. Jobs has offered his complete cooperation with the effort, making no subject off-limits and not requesting the right to review material before publication.

Ars Technica reports that new Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent out an email to Apple employees expressing his enthusiasm for officially taking the reins of the company and reassuring employees that "Apple is not going to change." The full text of the email:

Team:

I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I've ever made and it's been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve's optimism for Apple's bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve's ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple's unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim

Cook has gained a solid reputation for his leadership abilities and work to streamline Apple's operations. He has also clearly embraced the Apple concept as revealed by the "Cook Doctrine" he laid out over two years ago as he took on the role of overseeing Apple's day-to-day operations during one of Steve Jobs' medical leaves of absence.

TUAW's Michael Grothaus, a former Apple employee, also offers a personal impression of Tim Cook, noting the thoughtfulness and careful consideration he gives when speaking as an example of his leadership abilities "sans ego".

Tim Cook is one of those rare people who stop and think before speaking. Standing in the same room with him I realized that he's comfortable with silence as long as that silence is productive and appropriate. He's not like other tech execs who ramble almost immediately and incoherently at any question lobbed at them, as if doing so will convince others they know everything about everything.

Tim Cook is a person who has confidence in his position as a leader, sans ego. Ego doesn't take pauses. It's rapid-fire. And it's that confidence and lack of ego that allows him the time to examine the issues and questions at hand, no matter how lowly or silly others may think them, and address them appropriately.

Cook has been at Apple since 1998, and while he has played a primary role in hosting Apple's earnings conference calls, he has until relatively recently remained quietly in the background when it comes to Apple's mainstream public appearances. But the company in recent months has been making a more active role for him, most notably as the on-stage representative for Apple at the introduction of the Verizon iPhone earlier this year.

With Steve Jobs' resignation as Apple CEO yesterday, there have been many reflections on his career and the impact he had on shaping Apple, the technology industry, and beyond. The New York Times takes an interesting perspective on his attention to detail, noting that Jobs has been named as an inventor on a total of 313 Apple patents. Of those, Jobs appears as the lead inventor 33 times.

Image from Jobs' glass staircase patent

Mr. Jobs appears as the principal inventor or as one inventor among several on 313 Apple patents. Most are design patents that cover the look and feel of a product, rather than utility patents, which may cover a technical innovation like a software algorithm or computer chip.

Still, the number of patents is far larger than those granted to most other technology company chiefs, including those whose technical breakthroughs and inventions were instrumental to their companies’ success. Just nine Microsoft patents carry the name of Bill Gates, who was a co-founder of the company and its chief executive for more than two decades before stepping down in 2000. And little more than a dozen Google patents carry the names of co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, according to a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Web site.

The New York Times has put together an interactive feature highlighting Apple patents attributed to Jobs. More than 200 of the patents attributed to Jobs also list Apple design guru Jonathan Ive, indicating the close collaboration between the two in creating the vision for Apple's products.

Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple in a letter to Apple's Board of Directors. In his letter, Steve asks to remain Chairman of the Board and appoints Tim Cook as his successor. The board has approved these requests, effective immediately. Jobs will still be "active" at Apple and is expected to continue to be involved with company strategy.

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Art Levinson, chairman of Genentech and an Apple board member for more than 10 years, issued this statement on behalf of the board:

Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company. Steve has made countless contributions to Apple's success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple's immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.

Jobs was diagnosed and treated for pancreatic cancer in 2004. He's taken three separate leaves of absence for medical reasons during and since that time. In 2009, Jobs had a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, TN. He has been away from his day-to-day duties since January of this year.

Regarding Tim Cook's appointment as CEO, Levinson wrote:

The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO. Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.

Apple's stock was paused in after-hours trading at 4:19PM for approximately 35 minutes. The final trade was at $375.56. When trading resumed at 4:55, Apple's stock was down more than 5% to $351.

Our Additional Coverage:

• Jobs to Remain Closely Involved in Apple's Product Strategy
• Tim Cook's Auburn University Commencement Speech
• Steve Jobs to Remain on Disney Board
• "Jobs's greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself."
• Steve Jobs' Outlook on Apple After Returning in 1997
• Steve Jobs' Resignation Not Indicative of Sudden Worsening of Health

Research firm IHS iSuppli has released updated projections for tablet sales through 2015, showing Apple maintaining its leadership position longer than previously expected as rivals continue to be unable to make a significant dent in the iPad's position.

According to the report, Apple is projected to ship 44.2 million iPads this year, up 500,000 from the firm's previous estimate. That previous number had, however, been lowered from earlier projections after Apple posted lower-than-expected sales early figures for the iPad 2 as it struggled to ramp up production. The new 44.2 million figure for 2011 is expected to represent 74% of the total tablet market, up from 64% in the previous report.

“All the momentum in the media tablet market is with Apple right now,” said Rhoda Alexander, senior manager, tablet and monitor research for IHS. “The competition can’t seem to field a product with the right combination of hardware, marketing, applications and content to match up with the iPad. Furthermore, Apple’s patent litigation is serving to slow or complicate competitors’ entry into some key regional markets. With Apple lapping its competitors, many of whom are still struggling to get out of the starting gate, this remains a one-horse race.”

Looking out even further, IHS iSuppli now sees Apple holding onto its majority share of the tablet market through 2013, one year longer than previously anticipated. At the far end of its projections, the report sees Apple shipping 120 million iPads in 2015, up from previous projections of 97.9 million units. Even at that extended timeframe, Apple is projected to hold 43.6% of the tablet market, up significantly from earlier estimates of 32%.