20 out of his garage only to be fired, then come back and save the company. >> we call it the ipad. >> reporter: between the ipod, iphone and ipad, his vision has spawned a world filled with touchscreens and apps. in the process jobs became a cultural icon, always operating in secret and telling me he used to hide at home in order to use the first iphone prototype. >> so are you using that currently as your phone? >> i haven't been able to because i can't take it out in public. i've had one at home for a while i've been using in the middle of the night. >> reporter: so after today you can use it? >> oh, yes. >> reporter: but that secrecy has extended to his health. he beat a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004. then after appearing extremely thin at a conference in 2008, he claimed it was nothing more than a hormone imbalance. but in 2009 the world learned he actually needed a liver transplant. a fact kept under wraps until after the procedure. >> i'm vertical. i'm back at apple. loving every day of it. >> reporter: few companies' fortunes are as closely tied to their ceo as apple, leading to the painful question, can apple