Co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak worried Microsoft is more innovative than Apple

By Rich Edmonds
published

The co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak was interviewed at TEDx Brussels by TechCrunch, where the technological genius was asked how he felt about the advances Microsoft is making in both the PC and smartphone markets. So how does Wozniak view the new Microsoft? He's worried for Apple, and for good reason.

The Apple guru has previously picked up a Lumia 900, choosing the Windows Phone over Android and stating that the operating system is "intuitive and beautiful". Wozniak also was recorded in revealing he's excited about Microsoft and sees a new company re-entering the PC and mobile markets. This is all leading up to him being concerned for Apple.

Apple has continuously been viewed as the innovative technology giant that surpassed Microsoft in many ways, including public interaction (the Apple stores) and presentation (Steve Jobs and his famous keynotes). The advertisement campaign that Apple launched attacking PC as a boring platform was true in a way - it's how consumers viewed Microsoft. Office, spreadsheets and Vista.

Microsoft has since changed. In more ways than one. The launch of Windows Phone brought something new to the table. Everyone wondered what the then software giant was planning for the future. Then Windows 8 was unveiled with multiple public previews. This is when the game changed, when Microsoft fought back against Apple.

Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Skype, SkyDrive, Xbox (with Xbox Live, Music, Video and more) and the new Office. It's quite a product line-up. It's also worth noting that Microsoft is also investing in expanding its reach with new apps and services launching on competing platforms, including Mac, iOS and Android. It's making massive, bold risks that look likely to pay off.

Wozniak is impressed by how Microsoft is making one think "woah!" at what's being announced and the strides taken in research. He feels as though Apple is "cracking out the newest iPhone" instead of innovating and advancing technologies. He's worried that the company could lose ground due to merely "improving" already available products and services. It's not Apple's style and why he's worried the company will lose the recognition of being the lead in innovation.

Check out the video interview below, it's well worth the watch.

Source: TechCrunch

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

66 Comments
  • hmm....that's the last thing I'm worried about actually.  In fact, I can't even say I am worried about it....this is not news to anyone who has followed tech for the last 3-4 years.
  • To me, looks like Apple is going volume now, 3 ipads in one year and rumor of a q1 new iphone release?  Apple is a premium brand, i guess they want to meet the volume samsung sees quarter. 
  • Everyone expects Apple to release new products every year, which is why they can release something half-baked, then relax for 6 months and release the technology they could've done in the last version. I can understand Windows Phone 8 being dual-core because they don't want to miss out on that round of cash, but releasing new versions of the same product that could've been released months ago, without a reason other than actually needing the business is just wrong.
  • Woz is and always will be a tech guy. and True tech guys know whats being done and will call it as such..
  • I can't think of one thing Apple has ever actually invented.
  • IPhone
  • That was iPod with phone added.
  • Ipod= portable music device. I'm sure there was something really popular called a walkman that brought to market this concept first. Innovation is not invention. Polishing other people's work is what Apple likes to do, and then claim it as their own. Of course a 10 year old has no historical reference so they buy into the whole apple innovation idea.
  • You are kidding right. The first iPhone was a simple clone of Windows Mobile which actually was made by... Guess who ;-)
    Apple never invented sh*t in spite what people say. They merely took concepts and took it a step further. And because of the cult around Apple stuff, it actually became succesful. The only innovative company of the last couple of years is Microsoft. And that's what The Woz is saying too
  • If you're going to treat innovation like that, practically no one has ever innovated. Every idea is based off existing concepts. True innovation happens when someone takes existing innovations and puts them together in a way no one had thout of before.
    The original iPhone did not have as many features as Windows Mobile devices, it wasn't the first device to feature multitouch or a capacitive screen, and it wasn't the first OS to be intuitive to use. But it was the first device to combine all three of these things. 
    You can deconstruct any invention in its base components and determine it was done by someone else, but you have to look at the product as a whole to find its true worth.
  • I agree. Although I do think Apple is overrated. They didn't invent stuff. People should look at Apple how they really are. The company that doesn't make the the most innovative stuff. Good quality products, well maybe. Too expensive, yet good. But NOT for everyone.
  • I've been saying this for a long time. MS made the tablets yrs ago & no one cared till Apple made the iPad & all the iFans went crazy. I bet no one even knows there was a Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.
  • sorry but if you can'T see that Apple changed the Smartphone market you're simply blind. I am a MS fan and really dislike Apple but you have to give them credit for that. The iPhone luckily changed the indrustry. You know it. I know it. Even Microsofts executives said it "2007 happened".
    The iPhone was a game changer and a truly new product. YES, NEW. You can't even compare Windows Mobile or anything other to it. It was simple, beautiful and innovative. It still is. Lucky us MS and others catched up and thats why we have these beautiful devices like the 920.
  • Again, Apple did not invent the "smartphone" nor did they invent touch screens or icons.
  • He didn't say so, he said that it changed it.
  • Panorama + Notification Bar = Android
    iMaps = Google Maps (Opps)
    iPad = Samsung´s Photoframe
    iPod = Creative Technology
    ‘iPhone’ = Linksys’ iPhone®
    iPhone = LG Prada
    Siri = Xiaoi Bot + Nuance
    App Store = Ubuntu Software Center
    Bigger Screen = Everybody else
    MacBook Air = HP’s Sojourn
    Macsafe = Asian Crockery
    Thunderbolt = Intel
    OSX, iOS = Unix
    Icons = Windows Mobile
    Apple Logo = Genesis 1:6, 3:6
    Aluminum = Cheapest Metal
    Plastic = ($$$ Reinforced Polymers)
    Security = Buy a new one...
     
  • Genesis 1:6 LOL!!!
  • YEAH man, I die laughing at it. However, Bible never said it was an Apple. In fact, it was a forbidden "fruit". 
  • And Apple the company is the forbidden fruit. ;)
  • I have to give it to you! Brilliant on Genesis 1:6!
  • You also didn't mention the Fusion Drive, which I beleive was first done by OCZ.
     
    Oh, and they BOUGHT Siri, they didn't even legitiamtely develop it, right?
  • One of the most epics posts ever!
  • Personal computer.
  • Yep.  Personal computer that was simple and intuitive to use, mp3 player that was simple and intuitive to use, smartphone that was simple and intuitive to use, tablet that was simple and intuitive to use.  
    I hope they have more in their labs waiting to come out that actually will come out.  A better Apple TV would be great - Microsoft is without a doubt dominating this market and may well have a game changer come to the market before apple does.  
  • You're kidding right? So their claim to fame is simplifying existing technology? Still not the same as inventing. And did you really have a hard time with an mp3 player before? Really?
  • I found the moronic scroll wheel of iTunes to be MUCH worse than the experience of my Creative Labs Zen Micro, let alone of my original Zune. I also found the Zune PC software to be an overall upgrade over iTunes, in terms of functionality/visual appeal. No, they did NOT make MP3 players simpler.
  • I used cheap $20 MP3 players that were easier to use than iPods, that scroll wheel and the forced use of iTunes did NOT make music players easier to use.
  • The rectangle aparently
  • Best reply to this article, hands down.  
  • Touché! LOL!
  • anyone know the movie "Hudsucker Proxy"? LMAO... Tim Robbins keeps showing everyone his "amazing idea" which is a CIRCLE on a piece of paper... of course, it turns out to be the Hoola Hoop! hahaha  ;)
  • Well... -thinks really super hard-
    The hockey puck mouse. Look how well that turned out. Can't say iPhone cause...that's just a phone with some bits of aluminum. Can't say iPad because tablets have been around WAY before that came out (Fujitsu Stylistic), the mp3 player...no, Diamond Reo got there first. iTunes... no..
    Problem with inventions are that they can't have existed in any form prior to their release. Apple just take things that already exist and screw with them until they get what they want.
  • I find it funny how apple would make fun of the sterile beige PC case and so they came out with all these fruity colored computers, yet today their coveted color for their iPhones and Ipads is white and Microsoft is busting out all the colors in their product line.
  • I know. MS is being so 1997.
  • Blackberry with an ipod.
  • I tipped u and posted it on the forums.
  • Apple is like Call of Duty. "If people like it, let's not change it"
  • +1
  • Great analogy I have not heard before.  +1
  • From a monetary standpoint, its working very well for both companies (call of duty isnt really a company but you get the idea). But as Microsoft learned the hard way, innovation is completely necessary even when you are the most valuable company in the world.
  • But they DID change it. Now you can't find your way home without calling in a search and rescue team...
  • Apple just needs to go back to the drawing board and rediscover what made them who they are. There's gotta be enough Job disciples there to come up with some thing to shake up the status quo again.
  • The wizard of Woz. I like the man.
  • That's how tech works. And the beauty of capitalism.
  • He also called Steve Jobs a bastard.
  • Can't blame him for teling the truth, techincally Jobs is a bastard in 2 ways - being born out of wedlock and cause he wasn't such a nice guy. The man was still a genius at certain things but he wasn't always a nice guy.
  • I've been saying the exact same thing to everyone I know. I've always been a Mac guy, never owning a Windows computer or anything by Microsoft actually. The whole Metro concept has me excited about Windows for the first time ever. I love my Lumia 900 and can't wait for my 920 to arrive.
    I'm not saying my opinion is oh-so important, so please spare me the Mac vs Windows arguments, because I'm not evangelizing either OS nor saying one is better. I'm talking opinion. Preference.
    The only smartphones I've owned are iPhone 3G, Google/HTC Nexus One, HP Pre3, and the Nokia Lumia 900. In getting the Lumia 920, it's the first time I have invested again in a single mobile OS. That attests to myself the superiority of the OS for me and my mobile needs.
  • I've never really cared much about celebrities or any famous folks in general, but this guy I like, and getting to know him personally while drinking a brew would be an honor.  Sometimes I think that apple has such great fans because of him.  I hear that he stands in lines just like everyone else when buying new apple products, and therefore I really can't blame the fans at the line being so exited and falling in love with Apple when them meeting.  When was the last time we heard about Ballmer or any other MS executive/Iconic figure do the same?
  • Well put cae758.
  • As much as I like Woz, I have to disagree with him about his comments on the lack of innovation from Apple not being their style. 
     
    As he says himself, back before Jobs came back to the company all Apple did was itterate on their existing products because they knew that the same people would buy them year on year. During the time that Jobs was at the company they cranked out a bunch of new products that moved consumer technology in huge steps. Regardless of whether they were entirely new ideas, they showed the world that smartphones and tablets could be better and taught people to expect more from their technology. 
     
    Now that Jobs is gone the company has gone back to itterating on what they have, safe in the knowledge that the same people will buy their products year in and year out. They're very much back where they were, they just have a much larger audience now. 
     
    From a sociological and technical stand point I am really curious to see how long it takes for the negativity that is surfacing in the tech community to filter down to the masses. Personally I'm not sure the general public will take to another iPhone in such numbers unless it is radically different; but I might be giving them too much credit.
  • No video link/button on the app.
  • It isn't a WPcentral video so you have to go to the source link which can be accessed through the app. Its probably an intellectual property issue.
  • Great article, great to hear someone so highy recognised in the tech world as a founder with such diverse and open opinions about competitors.
  • And still WP8 have no flash in the Webb browser, like Safari in iPhone. I know HTML5 is the new way but come on, so many good sites not working because they use flash. Embarrassing when a friend passed by today and showed our national tv channel, and it works on his Playstation also..just pisses me off.
  • Flash is dead... IPhone does NOT support flash
  • And still they can watch flash based sites. I know flash is dead, just said html5 is the new way. Still, a lot not working with IE, in Xbox or WP. It should just work and it doesn't. Maybe MSFT innovated there products to death.
  • It must be a browser detection & redirect issue. I.e. The iPhone version is going to a proper mobile / html5 version while WP is staying on the flash-version. The iPhone simply cannot run flash - Jobs went to his grave saying he would never allow it.
  • Android doesn't even support flash anymore. Get with the times.
  • And yet I think both you and I can agree that Flash is bad, right? So how about we force website developers to stop using it, by removing support on some of the most popular viewing screens?
  • There are a couple of flash players in the marketplace which work good, if you are so much dependent on flash go grab one in the marketplace. Btw flash is almost dead and even Android is pulling the plug really fast.
  • Apple borrows other people's ideas and gets credited with inventing EVERYTHING. Apple's ONLY innovation is their marketing prowess and that died with Steve Jobs. I like Apple, but this is the reality of it all.
  • Wish I could watch the video on my phone.
  • What video...??? :)
  • Works fine on my HD7 via the source link.
  • Apple's best feature is also their biggiest flaw. iOS. The iPhone was new and different when it came out and make a high impact on the marketplace but, now, 6-7 years later, iOS looks the same as it did before. Maybe some new features but, the same OS is there and it works the same.
     
    The iPhone 5 is a slick piece of hardware, no question, it's a very nice phone and according to drop tests, it's built pretty good but, it's got iOS on it, it looks almost exactly the same as the iPhone 3gs but, has another row of icons.
     
    Android and Microsoft (Windows Mobile/WIndows Phone), noticed this and revamped their whole OS, so when you buy a new phone, your getting a new phone, not yesterday's OS.
    I've played with iOS 6 on the iPhone 5 and 4/4s, it's the same thing and it's really getting old...
  • i live Woz.
     
    this is EXACTLY what i've been saying alot.
    Back when Jobs was still with us, Apple came out with new technology and features in every release of the iPhone etc. And now that he's gone, the iPhone 5 brought NOTHING new, just incremental upgrades to everything. Apple seems to just slightly improve on the stuff they came up with during Steve's time. It's a shame, really.