Tim Cook: Apple Watch development started less than three years ago

In an interview with ABC News just after today’s iPhone 6 and Apple Watch press conference today, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that development of the company’s upcoming wearable device began sometime after the passing of its founder and former CEO Steve Jobs in October 2011.

In speaking with ABC News anchor David Muir, Cook said that while Jobs didn’t have the chance to involve himself directly in the development of the Apple Watch, he felt that Jobs’ previous work is still referenced in the company’s current products. Cook stated:

The foundation that he left, you can see in all the things that we’re doing today, and the way we look at things. So to me it’s not as a big deal whether he personally saw something or didn’t, his thinking and his taste and his incredible perfectionist kind of view, and his view that you should always innovate, all those things are alive and well in the company and I think they always will be.”

Cook said that he felt Jobs would be “incredibly proud” of what Apple was like as a company even after his passing and added, “I think he’s smiling right now.”

Source: ABC News