BY APPLE'S WorldWide Developers Conference held in early June in San Francisco was an interesting event. As expected Apple announced the new iPhone 3.0 software and a new iPhone 3G S.

After the media filed out of the conference hall at the Moscone Centre, an Apple staff member from Taiwan showed me a photo of what looked like Steve Jobs, Apple's mercurial chief executive officer, sitting in the audience.

Could the gaunt guy in black turtleneck and jeans – Mr Jobs' trademark colour and outfit – be really him? My heart missed a beat.

But then reason took over and we realised that if it was really him, he would have made a cameo appearance on stage. He wouldn’t be too happy just watching. He would want to participate.

Besides, there's no media rush to mob him. So sadly, we realised that that person in the photo was only a lookalike.

When the real Mr Jobs reports for work again next week after a six-month medical related hiatus, speculation on his role in the company will intensify.

Since the Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that he has had a liver transplant, the question has been: Will there be Apple after Steve?

No business executive embodies the vision and products of a company so completely like Mr Jobs. So his absence or presence inevitably is in the interest of Wall Street, industry observers and Apple fanboys.

On the first day that Mr Jobs returns to work, I want to see how healthy looking he is more than anything else. That would be proof that he is recuperating well.

He would not have fully recovered as a liver transplant — reported to have taken place only two months ago — would take a person some months to regain normalcy.

So, he may not be back at the top for long. He may give up his CEO seat for Mr Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, who had been running the company in his absence. And running it well, I may add.

In the last quarter which ended in March, Apple's profit was US$1.21 billion (S$1.76 million) on US$8.16 billion revenue.

Mr Jobs has also been building up the core management team that has been running the product divisions and operations with no visible ill effects. More significantly, the essence of his thinking and management style has been instilled into Apple.

So he may end up with lighter duties as Chairman and be involved in strategic projects. That way he'll remain at the helm of the company he co-founded 33 years ago.

In September, the world may catch him on stage. That's when Apple usually announces a new iPod range for the year-end holidays. He may use the occasion to show the world how well he is.

Having covered and followed the fortunes of Apple and Mr Jobs for more than two decades, there's still a wild card: Mr Jobs could extend his medical leave for another three to six months.

Read more about what's happening at Apple: Jobs' first speech since January