When it comes to Apple, there are few people who can gain the attention of an audience like co-founder Steve Wozniak. The man affectionately known as "Woz" has not been involved with the day-to-day operations of the company since the late 1980s, but the man that engineered the Apple I and Apple II is highly regarded in technology circles.
Recently, Woz sat down with Wired Magazine for a lengthy interview during the Apps World North America conference in San Francisco that touched upon a number of different topics. However, there were a few areas that contained some of his more interesting ideas, and they have to do with potential product lines.
He first mentioned that Apple should consider releasing a device that runs on Android. His reasoning is that there is nothing keeping the company out of the Android market and it could compete very well. Combining the style of Apple hardware with an operating system that some users prefer would allow the company to play in two fields at the same time.
While it would seem like that is an impossible task, Android is an open-source operating system and any developer can create a product using it. However, there could be some hurdles like licensing specific applications.
It would not be surprising to learn that Apple is working on something like this, as the company has been shrouded in secrecy when it comes to product development. Look no further than the countless rumors swirling about the iWatch, despite there being little to actually back them up. Woz, however, believes there is a method to the madness.
"The great products really come from secret development," he said. "You put small teams of great people on them and they aren't bothered by other people commenting on what they're doing while they're doing it. A whole new category of products doesn't happen very often. It might happen once a decade. Sometimes you have to wait for one of those to come about."
Wozniak also approved of the minimal approach to upgrading the iPhone by refusing to add random features just to increase the amount, saying that it is not true innovation.
While the words of Woz are purely speculation, it does peak the interest of techies everywhere. For businesses that are powered by Mac integration, partnering with an IT consulting company that specializes in Apple products can help keep them ahead of the competition.
