Jobs Was a Genius; the Movie Not So Much

I saw the Steve Jobs movie this past weekend.

Unfortunately, the movie's producers tried to sum up Jobs's entire professional career in two hours, which clearly was not possible. Too many significant parts were left out, and the movie did not accurately show the genius that Jobs was. We all know that Jobs was lots of other things too, and many of them weren't qualities you'd want in a person.

The movie seemed to imply that Steve Wozniak was the brains behind all the real engineering work. To some extent that's true (at least as far as I'm aware), but not to the extent that the movie portrayed it. I'm pretty sure Jobs knew his way around a soldering iron.

The movie also stopped short of some of Jobs's biggest professional accomplishments, namely the iPhone and the iPad. Say what you want about the devices, but you can't deny the economic success that they were and continue to be. They've driven Apple stock to places that I never thought were possible.

Now that Jobs is gone, will we see anymore true innovation from Apple? A next-generation this or that, an improved camera, or larger display is hardly the type of innovation we've come to expect from Apple, at least while Jobs was at the helm. Hopefully, the company can regain its "wow factor."

On a personal note, I met many of the people who were depicted in the movie, so I found that doubly interesting. This includes Wozniak, Gil Amelio, and Jony Ive. My recollections of them are similar, but clearly Hollywood used its artistic license.

If you're in our industry, I think you'll enjoy the movie. Otherwise, maybe not.

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