Apple's Jobs, beset by health issues, resigns

Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave for an undisclosed condition since Jan. 17, resigned as chief executive of Apple Wednesday, saying he could "no longer meet" the duties and expectations of the job.

Interim CEO Tim Cook was immediately elevated to CEO, while Jobs, 56, will stay on as chairman of the board.

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know," Jobs said in a letter to "the Apple community" that was released by the company. "Unfortunately, that day has come."

While the move was stunning, it was not entirely unexpected.

Jobs had been seen only rarely this year, including at a San Francisco event in March where he unveiled Apple's iPad 2, the hugely successful follow-on to its hugely successful tablet computer.

Steven Jobs "leans on the new 'Macintosh' personal computer following a shareholder's meeting Jan. 24, 1984 in Cupertino, Ca.," reads the original caption for this photo. "The Macintosh, priced at $2,495, is challenging IBM in the personal computer market." Jobs was just shy of age 30.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was the visionary who helped create computers for everyday people and not just technophiles, developed highly stylized and hugely successful devices such as the iPod, iPhone, iPad and engendered a cult-like following among product enthusiasts worldwide.