Steve Wozniak on Apple Watch: ‘This isn’t the company that Apple was originally’

Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak took part in an AMA session on Reddit yesterday, during which he conceded that Apple’s current approach to hardware and product fit isn’t what he and Steve Jobs intended necessarily.

The comments came in response to a query about the Apple Watch, with Woz’s specific concern being the company’s reduced focus on hardware. He also said that the launch moved the company into selling into the jewelry market, rather than tech.

“I worry a little bit about – 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.”

It’s hard to know if Woz’s concerns about the Apple Watch, who it’s marketed at and the variety of the range are justified – Apple has thus far refused to give official sales figures for the devices. In November last year, analysis company Canalys estimated that around 7 million units had been sold since its introduction six months before.

In January, Tim Cook said that he wasn’t revealing the specific sales figures so that the company could keep its competitors in the dark, which isn’t a move we see a lot from Apple – it tends to shout pretty loudly about its ‘wins’ for its rivals to hear.

Despite any minor concerns Woz 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.”

On the encryption battle Apple is currently embroiled in against US authorities, Woz says that creating a backdoor ultimately makes it “very likely” that the code will fall into the wrong hands and be misused.

➤ I’m Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak, Ask Me Anything! [Reddit via The Guardian]