Will Jobs' Death Impact Apple’s Future?

The death of Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs sparked emotional reactions from across the world, with analysts and tech industry watchers saying his absence will undoubtedly be felt at the company he co-founded.

Getty Images Steve Jobs

"The United States as well as Apple has lost an icon...I will say it is an end of an era," Michael Yoshikami, Founder of YCMNET Advisors, told CNBC on Thursday.

"I don't think it's a stretch to say that many people did buy Apple products because of the faith in the vision that Steve Jobs has put out…. and when that visionary falls away, then the company is judged more harshly. It's just inevitable," said Yoshikami.

The man behind the iconic iPhone, iPad, and iPod lost his years-long battle to pancreatic cancer on Wednesday, at age 56, a day after Apple released its iPhone 4S – a rare disappointing product release.

"It is unfortunate that the timing was right after the 4S announcement, a lot of people perceived this as not the greatest thing Apple's done," said Bob O'Donnell, Vice President at technology research firm IDC. "But I think the company's still got a lot of great things."

Since Jobs passed on the baton to Tim Cook in late August this year there has been concern among market watchers that an Apple

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[AAPL  Loading...      ()   ] without Steve Jobs at the helm will not be the same. However, some believe the skeptics might be underestimating Apple’s bench strength. "This is something they've been planning for and thinking about for a long time," David Riedel, President and Founder of Riedel Research Group, said.

One of the qualities of a good CEO is that he can pick the right people, and Jobs was one such CEO, said Jeff Embersits, CIO at Shareholder Value Management.

But filling his shoes at Apple is not going to be an easy task, “even though there are many smart and intelligent people capable of running Apple,” Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst at Enderle Group, added.

Jobs' ability to redefine the market for music, phones and tablets was hailed by many far beyond the tech industry, including U.S. President Barack Obama who called him "among the greatest of American innovators".

The last decade of technology was defined by Jobs, according to Enderle. “He was the reason why we got excited and lined up for products."

Jobs' genius was in creating products that were simple, sleek and easy-to-use, which helped create not just a successful company, but also a global iconic brand.

According to brand specialist Mike Amour, Chief Executive Officer of Project: WorldWide Asia Pacific, "If the Apple culture, vision and product remain consistent, then Jobs' extraordinary legacy will live on and the company will climb to even greater heights of creativity and innovation."

There has been no lack of speculation over what Apple's 'next big thing' will be, with the industry rumor mill saying it is likely to do with TV. Even though analysts remain confident about the company's product pipeline, the jury is out on whether it would enjoy the same level of success without the Jobs touch.

"There's a vacuum…It might not impact the product for the next year or 2 years…. but I think long term, it (Jobs death) does silence a voice that really has been a guiding light for this company,” said Yoshikami.

Gene Munster, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray's, who has been covering Apple for years and was at the 4S launch, says while Jobs’ death does not change his view of the company, one thing is clear: Jobs was very important to the culture at Apple. "That's not going to change overnight.... I think that a lot of the investor community has the same feeling that everyone has - Steve is irreplaceable.”