Steve Wozniak sat down with Telegraph.co.uk for an exclusive interview discussing the iPod, iPhone and future of Apple. In general, he’s optimistic, leading us to believe that in his world, the glass is half full-but definitely cracked.
Since 1987, Woz has been “basically retired” from Apple, but he hasn’t shied away from keeping his head around and staying publicly interested with the company’s dealings. “..it is clear his love for the company will never be diminished. He was never in it for the money, as his surprisingly frank and honest comments on the future of the company and the technology industry testify,” Rupert Neate explains for the Telegraph.
After Apple shares tumbled last week, with Apple seeing an (unfounded) 18% sell-off in the stock, Wozniak said the downgrade was “correct”. Honesty aside, Wozniak is sure putting it all out there. You’ll never hear an acting CEO or company executive issue a statement claiming that his company’s stock downgrades were “correct.” “It is time for the whole computer industry to maybe have a bit of a slowdown. For twenty years we have been in this replacement and upgrade market,” Wozniak explains. “It is very easy to postpone that when there are financial irregularities.” Additionally, after claiming that web 2.0 and social networking websites could lead to a minor dotcom crash similar to the first 1.0 bubble (which wiped $5 trillion from tech market value), Woz goes on to explain that the iPod is on its way out. What’s scary, is that he sounds right about the iPod.
“The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one,” he says. “Things like, that if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while. “It’s kind of like everyone has got one or two or three. You get to a point when they are on display everywhere, they get real cheap and they are not selling as much.”
Shifting focus to Apple’s iPhone 3G, he believes that “Consumers aren’t getting all they want when companies are very proprietary and lock their products down,” Woz explains while comparing the iPhone development platform to Google’s Android. “I would like to write some more powerful apps than what you’re [currently] allowed.”
The article explains that although most companies would literally kill for customer devotion and brand loyalty like Apple’s, founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs both “don’t like the fact that it’s a bit of a religion.” Well, guess what Steve’s, you better right a bible, because the religion’s only getting bigger. “I would like to have the users influence the next generation,” Woz explains. “With a religion you’re not allowed to challenge anything. I want our customers to challenge us.” (You mean, like this)
Woz goes onto explain that in Apple’s world of highly secretive product launches, co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs might not even know what’s coming until launch day. “I think he would be sitting there [unaware] right up until the day it is introduced.” However, he let slip that Apple’s future could lie in an “iWatch”.
