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Steve Wozniak seems to have a complex relationship with both modern-day Apple and, particularly, the Apple Watch. In an interview at the Automate/Promat Show in Chicago yesterday, Apple’s co-founder said Apple’s foray into high-end wearables marks a very different turn for the company he helped to found.
“It didn’t seem like the company we started,” he said. “That’s not the Apple that moved the world forward.”
Woz’s beef, if you can call it that, is with the ultra-expensive Apple Watch Edition.
His view of Apple’s upcoming product line seems complicated at best. At first, he seemingly dismissing Apple Watch by calling it a “luxury fitness band” and saying that he had gotten “real negative on smartwatches” — only to later turn around and describe it as a “ little piece of art.”
Read more at
http://www.cultofmac.com/317204/woz-appl...OblSr4y.99
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that ship sailed long ago. the 20th Anniversary Mac was $7,500 in 1997. yes, it was a computer but still, sticker shock is sticker shock. i've never understood why folks pay as much as they do for a Rolex but that's just me.
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The Woz is a cool dude but he has never been an oracle of knowledge or wisdom.
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saying that he had gotten “real negative on smartwatches” — only to later turn around and describe it as a “ little piece of art.”
Because he's negative on smart watches means he'd not allowed to appreciate one as art?
No doubt there's context in the article to justify the "only to turn around…" bit.
But I don't think I'll be taking the bait.
I would take a Rolex, however.
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I think his comments are spot on, and I agree with most of the comments here.
Apple in 2015 is different than the company he started.
The question in my mind is not that it's different but whether the Apple in 2015 still has the core values of the original Apple. Making technology accessible to change people's lives.
I'm not so sure.
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You'd think even the Woz would know it's really too early to tell whether this is just an expensive niche product or actually the harbinger of a new generation of ubiquitous tech. Odds in the favor of the latter. The PC was in the same category 40 years ago...
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Sekker,
I've been using Apple products since the late 70s. To me, Apple was always the company that made the computer for the rest of us. Maybe not so much with the Apple II+ (which was my family's first computer) but definitely with the advent of the Macintosh.
Navigate the interface of the computer? Manage documents? Play a game? Write a paper? Add columns of numbers? Use a terminal program to dial a telecommunications service? Easy! In many cases you never had to crack open a manual.
I've seen the products evolve and, in some cases, change dramatically. Yet, despite that, I can navigate the interface of my computer, manage documents, play a games, write a paper, add columns of numbers, and far far more. And, do it with relative ease and without breaking out a manual. I say with relative ease since computers and their applications have evolved tremendously since the days of the Apple II+ and original Macintosh.
And, that leads me to the answer to your question... the answer is yes. Apple 2015 has definitely retained the core values. It's still trying to make devices that are accessible to everyone. We see that in the general product line. Even then, though, these items are getting more and more advanced and that's because people want their tech products to do a tremendous number of things. The days of the simplicity and limitations of the original Macintosh are long past.
But, Apple's customer base has evolved and expanded and Apple as a company is doing the same. The Apple Watch is just the most recent example of it. The Apple Watch will be a useful tech device and whose design and interface is accessible to the everyperson. For some, it'll also be a boutique item, something they can use but also show off to their friends, family and colleagues. Hence, the uber expensive versions of it.
I think of the Apple Watch like a car. Automakers have models for the masses and they have very expensive models for those who want them. Apple is doing the same with the Apple Watch.
I forgot to say... I'm kinda glad Apple isn't the same company these days. If it was, it'd be a company that is more limited in scope and we wouldn't necessarily have some of the awesome products that we enjoy nowadays.
Robert
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That's right, he basically invented the personal computer when he invented and produced the Apple I.
Remind me, how much did the last one of those sell for?
