Kenenter: Woz: Android will outpace iOS

Woz: Android will outpace iOS

11/19/2010 02:36:00 AM

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak thinks that the iPhone is tops in overall quality but also that when all's said and done, Google's Android platform will reign supreme in the mobile market.

"The Apple phone has very few weaknesses," Wozniak told Netherlands newspaper De Telegraaf in an interview (translation) posted today. "When it comes to quality, the iPhone is leading."

Wozniak also said, however, that "Android phones have more features" and deliver more buying options for those who don't want to be limited to a single device. In addition, Wozniak told the publication that like Windows in the desktop OS space, Google's mobile platform will become the "dominant" option in its own market.

Beyond that, Wozniak also revealed that Apple had developed a smartphone in 2004, but (obviously) never released it. According to Wozniak, the company "was satisfied with the quality, but wanted something that could surprise the world."

"If Apple comes [out] with a new product, it must have a real breakthrough," Wozniak said. It seems that Apple felt that "breakthrough" came in 2007 when it released the first-generation iPhone.

But it's Wozniak's comments on Android's future domination that will likely cause the most ruckus, given that he's a co-founder of Apple and still a shareholder in the company. That said, he's not covering new ground with those comments. Many analysts believe Android will eventually overtake the mobile market and leave Apple far behind.

By 2014, market-research firm Gartner expects Android to own about 30 percent of the worldwide mobile OS market, while Apple will account for just 15 percent. Another research firm, IDC, expects Android to have about 25 percent of the smartphone market globally in 2014, compared with Apple's expected 11 percent share.

Woz misquoted! 'Almost every app that I have is better on the iPhone'

Some comments attributed to Steve Wozniak caused quite a kerfuffle this morning -- according to Dutch paper De Telegraaf, Woz said that "Android phones have more features," which would help Google's OS become the dominant smartphone platform. Obviously, a statement like that from Apple's co-founder rocketed around the web, and it's set off yet another round of furious Android-vs-iOS debate. There's just one problem, though: Woz never said anything like that. Turns out Woz is an Engadget commenter just like you, and when we saw that he'd left a clarification on the post, we called him up for a quick chat to sort everything out.

Woz says he gave the De Telegraaf reporter a lengthy demonstration of voice commands on iOS and Android, pointed out that Android offered the ability to say "Navigate to Joe's Diner," and suggested that Apple would catch up through its purchases of Siri and Poly9. According to Steve, that's about it -- he says he'd "never" say that Android was better than iOS, and that "Almost every app I have is better on the iPhone." Woz did say he lightly prognosticated that Android would become more popular "based on what I've read," but that he expects Android "to be a lot like Windows... I'm not trying to put Android down, but I'm not suggesting it's better than iOS by any stretch of the imagination. But it can get greater marketshare and still be crappy." He's not shy, that Woz.

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