While NeXT devices weren’t exactly a hit, the legacy of the operating system cannot be understated
Steve Jobs is synonymous with Apple, as one of the tech giant’s visionary co-founders. However, during his hiatus from the company in the 1980s, Jobs also founded an equally ambitious electronics company, NeXT.
Jobs created NeXT in September 1985, the month he left the burgeoning Silicon Valley powerhouse. The months preceding this event saw a now infamous internal power struggle at the company between Jobs and Apple CEO John Sculley, eventually culminating in the former being sacked.
NeXT was the new play for Jobs, and he assembled somewhat of a dream team when embarking on the venture, including several senior figures from Apple.
This included Rich Page, one of the first four Apple Fellows, as well as Bud Tribble, head of the company’s software development segment, George Crow, Susan Barnes, head of the Macintosh division, and Dan’l Lewin, a prominent figure in the Apple sales division.
As one might expect, NeXT primarily focused on positioning itself as a key up-and-coming player in the computer hardware industry – and it definitely shook things up.
