Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), has another warning for the management of the tech giant in its bid to hang onto its leadership position in the consumer electronics industry. According to him, the iPhone & iPad maker needs to keep the “cool” image of its products or else it will lose the competition.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Wozniak said, “We used to have these ads, I’m a Mac and I’m a PC, and the Mac was always the cool guy,” he said. “And ouch, it’s painful, because we kind of are losing that.”
Earlier this month, Wozniak shared a similar opinion regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during an interview with Wirtschafts Woche, a German publication, he said the features of the products of the tech giant are falling behind its rivals particularly Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930), its strongest competitor. Wozniak said, “Currently we are, in my opinion, in the smartphone business with the features somewhat behind. Others have caught up. Samsung is a great competitor. But precisely because they are currently making great products.”
Wozniak told Bloomberg that some of the major players in the consumer electronics industry such as Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) have great ideas, but he emphasized that companies need a significant number of loyal customers to buy and follow its products. Apple’s co-founder believes the iPhone maker is “really good at setting standard with a new device.” He emphasized, “Apple still has halo in that regard.”
Wozniak previously stated that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has loyal customers. In fact, he admitted he remains a part of the Apple fans community despite the fact that he left the company in 1985. According to him, just like other consumers, he often waits in lie at Apple retail store to buy the newest model of iPhone or iPad because he considers the launching of a new Apple product as a “big, major concert, ad history.”
At present, Wozniak opined that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is relying on its appeal as a premium brand because of the absence of features that would outperform its rivals devices. According to him, the company must consider opening up its ecosystem. For example, he thinks the company should consider allowing buyers running Windows Phone 8 and Android mobile devices to use the iTunes media-management software.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO, Tim Cook, is facing pressures from investors to develop new innovative products to increase the company’s profitability. The stock price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined by 34 percent since its peak in September.
Wozniak pointed out that developing the right product needs time. Wozniak said, “Apple can keep engineers working so intently toward the right product, you don’t have to rush something out ahead of time.” Currently, Apple has a team of around product designers focused on developing a wristwatch-like mobile device. He thinks the innovation is good and also suggested that Apple should improve the voice recognition function of the Siri software.
