Larry Ellison Hints Post-Jobs Apple Could Be History Repeating

Larry Ellison

Without Steve Jobs at the helm, is Apple history doomed to repeat itself? Oracle CEO Larry Ellison certainly seems to think so, prognosticating on what the future may hold for the iPhone maker.

AllThingsD reported Monday that outspoken Oracle CEO Larry Ellison thinks he already knows what Apple’s future will hold without his friend Steve Jobs at the helm — and it appears to be a bit of history repeating.

“Well, we already know,” Ellison said during an interview with Charlie Rose on CBS This Morning. “We saw — we conducted the experiment. I mean, it’s been done.

“We saw Apple with Steve Jobs. We saw Apple without Steve Jobs. We saw Apple with Steve Jobs. Now, we’re gonna see Apple without Steve Jobs.”

It’s not hard to read between the lines: Ellison apparently thinks Apple could again stumble backward into those dark days when CEOs like John Sculley and Gil Amelio ruled the roost.

While the question of Apple’s future remains unknown, CEO Tim Cook and the remaining Jobs-era lieutenants may still have a few surprises in store, presumably starting with the next iPhone rumored to launch on September 10.

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