Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says this isnt the Apple that they founded
Referring to the Apple Watch as an important departure from the company’s roots, co-founder Steve Wozniak says Apple is no longer the company it was, nor “the company that changed the world.”
65-year-old Wozniak, the man who created the revolutionary Apple I home computer and led the design of the Apple II, gave his opinions on the smartwatch during a question-and-answer session on Reddit.
Wozniak left Apple in 1985 and has been a vocal supporter of the company’s products, but also a strong critic of its missteps. He has also advocated for online privacy and consumer rights, being one of the original funders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
In an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, he said that he no longer recognises the company, claiming the Apple Watch has moved it into the jewellery market. He also said that a few aspects were worrying to him, specifically the Watch and what it meant for Apple:
“I mean I love my Apple Watch, but – it’s taken us into a jewelry market where you’re going to buy a watch between $500 or $1100 based on how important you think you are as a person. The only difference is the band in all those watches. Twenty watches from $500 to $1100. The band’s the only difference? Well this isn’t the company that Apple was originally, or the company that really changed the world a lot. So it might be moving, but you’ve got to follow, you know. You’ve got to follow the paths of where the markets are. So, I love the software, and I love the hardware, and nothing’s letting me down. So I approve very strongly of Tim Cook and the new Apple. I dearly miss Steve Jobs too, but, that’s all.”
Despite minor concerns that Woznaik has about the Apple Watch, he says that he’s otherwise pleased with the company’s progress:
“Everything else, I’m very approving of Tim Cook, because every time we have a new iOS update, I’m very happy that it’s doing things that really affect people. Like transferring calls from my phone to my computer, etc. I really love even the Airplay, and all that.”
Further, when he was asked about his thoughts on how Tim Cook was managing the company, he explained that he very strongly approved of Tim Cook and the way the company still concentrates on good products that help people achieve things they want, instead of depending on marketing.
“He is continuing a strong tradition that Steve Jobs was known for of making good products that help people do things they want to do in their life, and not taking the company into roads of, ‘Oh, we’ll make all our money like by knowing you and advertising to you.’ We’ll make good products. And you know, I started out as a hardware product guy, so I’m glad to see that.”
Wozniak also voiced his strong support for Apple in its battle with the FBI over security concerns, backdoors and cyber security.
“I come from the side of personal liberties. But there are also other problems” he said referring to the FBI’s proposed solution of writing a special version of iOS to bypass iPhone security features.
“Twice in my life I wrote things that could have been viruses. I threw away every bit of source code. I just got a chill inside. These are dangerous, dangerous things, and if some code gets written in an Apple product that lets people in, bad people are going to find their way to it, very likely,” he added.
