Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Tech News > Apple 'somewhat behind' on phone features, says Wozniak

Apple 'somewhat behind' on phone features, says Wozniak
Thread Tools
NewsPoster
MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 02:20 PM
 
The iPhone has fallen "somewhat behind" in terms of smartphone features, according to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The comment emerged during Businessweek's Best Brand Awards. "I am proud that we have such loyal fans," he said. "But this loyalty is not given, the need to have the best products is always there. Currently we are in my opinion somewhat behind with features in the smartphone business. Others have caught up. Samsung is a big competitor. But precisely because they are currently making great products."

Together Apple and Samsung now effectively control cellphone industry profits. Samsung in particular has made major strides, coming off a series of successful phones like the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S III. The two are currently engaged in global legal battles however, since Apple accuses Samsung of plagiarizing some features.
     
rickrobin
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: NYC
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 03:09 PM
 
...and ever forthright Woz, now the primary, if not sole keeper of the Apple flame. What's happening may not be entirely blamable on the loss of SJ. But it's a heck of a high wire act to walk the line between maximum profit and maximum integrity the way he did. Not that he did it perfectly, but he never gave the world enough cause to seriously doubt the primacy in his value system of "insanely great." It's interesting that as Apple wrings every penny out of every product, and withholds functionality as a means of coercion of its "insanely loyal" customers to buy buy buy, instead of doing it with innovation (kill the iPod Mini in favor of the Nano - remember folks?), even Wall St. ain't buying.
     
mminogue
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Feb 2013
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 03:40 PM
 
Like a lot of articles criticising Apple products this one is long on rhetoric and almost devoid of substance in the form of actual facts.
     
afaby
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 03:43 PM
 
What exactly is the iPhone missing? Samsung and their ilk have to cram every imaginable feature into their phones because the OS and applications are severely lacking.
     
pairof9s
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 03:51 PM
 
So what exactly does Apple need to catch up on? Maps? I'd like a bigger screen but not that big Fisher Price thing the Galaxy uses. Plus, I'd say let Apple fall a bit behind so they can take a turn ripping off someone else's successful ideas and not pay a single dime for it.
     
mojkarma
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 05:16 PM
 
What does Apple need to catch up on?
Guys, just because you have no idea what that would be doesn't mean there aren't areas where Apple need to catch up.
     
broohaha22
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jul 2006
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 05:25 PM
 
I use my phone in a business setting, and here's one thing the old Blackberry has that doesn't exist in the iPhone. It's the ability to get alerted/alarmed when certain kinds of e-mail arrive. That would be really helpful to have. Most of the people in my dept switched to iPhones when our company gave us the opportunity to upgrade our work phones, but my boss decided to stick with BB and go with the model that was available last summer. And this particular feature was what sold him the most. I can sort of live without it, but it would be a really, really nice thing to have if it existed for the iPhone.
     
bobolicious
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Aug 2002
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 05:36 PM
 
might be my top software enhancement request aka BBRY home-business, but more versatile?
     
Bobfozz
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 05:37 PM
 
your comment
     
DiabloConQueso
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2008
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 06:34 PM
 
While it doesn't exist nearly in the breadth and depth that it does on the Blackberry platform, you can set up a "simple" email alerting system by adding people to your VIP list in Mail, then visiting the "Notifications" for the Mail app and having a different kind of alert set for VIP email, perhaps with a different type of banner alert or even an alert sound (alert sounds in meetings? KILL YOU!) that differs from the standard "new mail" alert sound.

Like I said, not exactly super-powered like the Blackberry, but it may get you closer to the end-game until Apple adds this functionality sometime in the future (if? when? who knows?).
     
thinkman
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Minnesota
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 06:38 PM
 
Woz is a guy who made his mark decades ago, yet is still called upon to remark on all things Apple. What he did way back then was earth shattering! What has he done of any significance since then that he is so often quoted by the media? It baffles me. Woz, go buy an island and isolate yourself from your sense of self importance, and put your mind back to creating something amazing instead of being a media hound!
     
iphonerulez
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 07:24 PM
 
Most consumers are probably overwhelmed by feature overload. Every Android smartphone doesn't have every feature packed into one smartphone. It wouldn't be cost effective and it just downright isn't necessary.

It's only tech-heads that are crying out for every feature possible. Tech-heads are upset that iPhone doesn't use quad-core processors. Tech-heads are upset that the iPhone doesn't have a 12MP camera. Tech-heads are upset that the iPhone doesn't have NFC. Most Android smartphones don't have any of those features.

Most consumers buying iPhones are more than satisfied what they're getting for their money. Trying to pack everything into a smallish smartphone is probably an unreasonable suggestion. Current high-end smartphones are very powerful devices and can do plenty for the average user. However, battery life is a serious problem and that problem needs to be tackled before trying to add every possible feature under the sun.

I don't think the iPhone can be said to be falling behind because it doesn't have every feature some other smartphone has. Apple's iPhone is still very useful and plenty of consumers are continuing to buy them despite their higher cost. Trying to figure out what's a useful feature and what isn't is hard to judge.

Wozniak is entitled to his opinion, but if he thinks he's so smart, he can create his own smartphone company and see if he can make a go of it with a smartphone that has everything in it and still expect to sell it for under $1000 unsubsidized.
( Last edited by Charles Martin; Feb 8, 2013 at 01:40 AM. )
     
iphonerulez
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 07:27 PM
 
Sorry for that one big paragraph, but that's not my doing. I broke it down into small paragraphs. This site is messed up when it comes to formatting. Why the hell it's putting slashes before my apostrophes, I have no idea.
     
cgc
Professional Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Down by the river
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 7, 2013, 07:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by afaby View Post
What exactly is the iPhone missing? Samsung and their ilk have to cram every imaginable feature into their phones because the OS and applications are severely lacking.
A bottle opener would be nice.
"Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to stay on my toes." Frank Drebin, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
     
Charles Martin
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Maitland, FL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 01:48 AM
 
Hey gang, don't get all bent outta shape about Woz's comments. He is a little like Rain Man sometimes, brutally honest (and a bit tactless) in his comments, but sincere from his particular perspective. Taken as a comment from a man who is a deep gadget freak with an engineer's passion for new and interesting ideas, Woz is right.

By virtue of having many manufacturers make umpteen models each with their own approach, and skinning -- and in some cases even their own fork of Android -- you get features (some of which are junky, some of which are not) that the iPhone doesn't have or at least have yet.

He did not say that makes Android superior. He said Apple is a little behind on features. It is what it is.

If you asked him how he feels about the fact that most Android phones never get more than one significant upgrade, he'd have an opinion on that too -- and I suspect it would please iOS fans a great deal.

We're used to carefully-chosen and polished quotes from media figures, but Woz is -- sometimes delightfully, sometimes wincingly -- candid in his views. As for those who dismiss him because he hasn't changed the world six times before breakfast, all I can say is this:

1. He continues to work as a Chief Scientist for a significant Apple (and others) tech supplier. This doesn't sound like a guy with nothing left to contribute.

2. You might want to remind yourself that without his contributions, your ability to express your view in a worldwide forum like this might well be non-existant -- or at least radically different -- than it is.
Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
     
blahblahbber
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2005
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 06:07 AM
 
Thank you Woz for making this clear to the zombie fans that crApple has.
     
driven
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Atlanta, GA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 07:45 AM
 
I'm reading Thinkman's comment, and I'm in agreement. Woz is a nice guy and all, but what has he done since the Apple II days to warrant asking him his opinion on anything? It could be argued that any number of people who have been involved at least since the 90s would be better to ask.

I hope Woz keeps doing what he does, but I'm thinking that perhaps he shouldn't be considered an authority on mobile technology.
- MacBook Air M2 16GB / 512GB
- MacBook Pro 16" i9 2.4Ghz 32GB / 1TB
- MacBook Pro 15" i7 2.9Ghz 16GB / 512GB
- iMac i5 3.2Ghz 1TB
- G4 Cube 500Mhz / Shelf display unit / Museum display
     
Grendelmon
Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Too F'ing Cold, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 11:28 AM
 
Most consumers are probably overwhelmed by feature overload.
:rollz eyes:
     
Grendelmon
Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Too F'ing Cold, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 12:58 PM
 
Woz, go buy an island and isolate yourself from your sense of self importance, and put your mind back to creating something amazing instead of being a media hound!
I still highly respect Woz and what he says. He uses every gadget on the planet and I think he's fairly objective in his product summaries. I mean, come on... look what he carries in his backpack:

Woz's backpack

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/17/a...iphones-ipads/
( Last edited by Grendelmon; Feb 8, 2013 at 02:07 PM. )
     
mac_in_tosh
Forum Regular
Join Date: Dec 2011
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 01:06 PM
 
> Woz is a guy who made his mark decades ago, yet is still called upon to remark on all things Apple. What he did way back then was earth shattering! What has he done of any significance since then that he is so often quoted by the media? It baffles me. Woz, go buy an island and isolate yourself from your sense of self importance, and put your mind back to creating something amazing instead of being a media hound!

thinkman: without Woz there would have been no SJ, the real media hound..
     
sbarton05
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denver
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 02:00 PM
 
"without Woz there would have been no SJ, the real media hound."

What great things did Woz go and do after he left Apple again??

At least we have Pixar and NeXT and then Apple again as a measure of SJ.
     
Grendelmon
Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Too F'ing Cold, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 02:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by sbarton05 View Post
"without Woz there would have been no SJ, the real media hound."

What great things did Woz go and do after he left Apple again??

At least we have Pixar and NeXT and then Apple again as a measure of SJ.
What a ridiculous comment. Woz has been credited with being extremely philanthropic among many organizations as well as his local school district. He's been highly active in promoting education, especially with information technology.

Jobs, well... his motivation was to be the best salesman he could be.
     
mac_in_tosh
Forum Regular
Join Date: Dec 2011
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 03:59 PM
 
> Jobs, well... his motivation was to be the best salesman he could be.

Grendelmon: Thank you for not making me have to reply to sbarton05's comment.
     
wrenchy
Forum Regular
Join Date: Nov 2009
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Feb 8, 2013, 05:47 PM
 
The Woz calls it like it is. He is a smart, honest man that cares about all technology. More than I can say for you sorry lot on macnn.
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:02 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,