Steve Jobs on Apple Product Demo: From the Top
What Jobs talks about
In this brief rehearsal, Jobs is preparing to start a press-style presentation and asks for the lights and volume to be adjusted. The exchange captures the setup and pacing of a live demo.
He humorously runs through a playful “announcement” about not needing to recharge an iPhone or a “Strawberry,” then pivots into a mock product bit about being light enough to feel like going barefoot.
The recording is notable less for a real product launch than for the way it shows Jobs shaping the flow, tone, and timing of a presentation before it begins.
Jobs speaks throughout, with brief off-camera assistance from someone adjusting lights, shoes, and volume.
In his words
“Turn the lights off, please.”
“Wouldn't it be great to not need to recharge your iPhone or the Strawberry?”
“Apple has designed digital scent technology, and it's right here.”
“Oh, this is as light as an iPhone 5.”
“Can we start from the top?”
Key points
- Jobs is getting the room ready for a presentation.
- He jokes about battery life and not needing to recharge an iPhone.
- He delivers a deliberately absurd product-style line about “digital scent technology.”
- He emphasizes how light the device feels.
- He resets the rehearsal and asks to start from the top.
Full transcript
Turn the lights off, please. Good, thank you. Wouldn't it be great to not need to recharge your iPhone or the Strawberry? But now, you can smell it. No, I'm not kidding. Apple has designed digital scent technology, and it's right here. Speaking of lighter, on my bare foot here—do you mean your shoes? Yeah. Okay, get the shoes, please. Okay, the volume. Okay. Oh, this is as light as an iPhone 5. It's like going barefoot. Um, can we start from the top? Okay, from the top, please.
Wait, let's start from the lighter part.
From YouTube captions, lightly punctuated for readability. Timestamps link to the video above. Errors are possible.