Woz Says That Apple's Cool Factor Is Waning, Company Must Shift Beyond Premium Brand
February 20, 2013
Steve Wozniak is worried about the company he co-founded. In a long-ranging interview with Bloomberg, Wozniak discussed Apple's competition, the "iWatch," and more.
After seeing Apple’s share price drop nearly 34 percent since September, Wozniak expressed concerns that the company could be losing its mojo.
He states:
We used to have these ads, I’m a Mac and I’m a PC, and the Mac was always the cool guy. And ouch, it’s painful, because we kind of are losing that.Wozniak is especially worried that Apple is relying too heavily on “its appeal as a premium brand.” Because of this, he believes that the company should open up its products to other ecosystems. Specifically, Wozniak would like to see Apple make the company’s iTunes media-management software available on other mobile devices. These would include devices running Windows, and Google Android. Going forward, Wozniak expects Microsoft’s Windows Phone software to gain “enough critical mass to keep going with their tablets and phones.” He also expects that BlackBerry will eventually switch to the Android operating system. Wozniak is most excited about news that Apple is working on a so-called iWatch. Assuming that the company improves the voice-recognition function of Siri, he’s all in for an actual Apple watch. “Apple can keep engineers working so intently toward the right product, you don’t have to rush something out ahead of time,” he said. Since Steve Jobs’ death in 2011, Wozniak has become more outspoken about the company he helped create. Last April, he stated that Windows Phone 7.5 was “more beautiful than iOS.” In November, he said that he was worried that Apple is “just used to cranking out the newest iPhone and falling a little behind.” Should Apple offer iTunes on other ecosystems? Are you ready to stand in line for an iWatch?
