The difference that Jony has made, not only at Apple but in the world, is huge. He is a wickedly intelligent person in allways. He understands business concepts, marketing concepts. He picks stuffup just like that..click. He understands what we do at our core better than anyone. If I had a spiritual partner at Apple, its Jony. Jony and I think up most of the products together and then pull others in and say, “Hey, what do you think about this?” He gets the big picture as well as the most infinitesimal details about each product. And he understands that Apple is a product company. He’s not just a designer. That’s why he works directly for me. He has more operational power than anyone else at Apple except me. There’s no one who can tell him what to do, or to butt out. That’s the way I set it up.

From biographical book, Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson 

When it comes to Jony’s importance to Apple, and his impact, only one opinion matters. That of Steve Jobs. Everyone else is just talking through both sides of their mouth. I am glad the two got to work together and create memorable products. Like I told my friend Bijan this morning, success in the 21st century has a very short term memory, only to be torn down, once the station in life, or context changes.