Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said in a recent interview that if he was still at the Cupertino, Calif. company, it would be working with one of its biggest rivals, Google.
Wozniak told the BBC that Apple would be more powerful if it had a good professional relationship with Google. Apple would be able to improve services such as voice-assistant software Siri (thanks to Google’s search-engine ties) and even develop better wearable tech, such as smartwatches and augmented-reality glasses, Wozniak said.
“I wish to God that Apple and Google were partners in the future,” he added.
But when asked how likely it would be for the two competitors to team up, Wozniak said, “I don’t know. If I were there, it would be pretty likely.”
But the Apple co-founder later backtracked, saying, “I’m probably wrong — there’s probably an awful lot I don’t know about the business concerns, and one thing you’ve got to remember is a company has always got to make money.”
In some areas, Apple’s software isn’t as strong as Android, particularly when it comes to voice-recognition assistant Siri, Wozniak claimed.
“Sometimes I say ‘Go to Joe’s Diner’ and [Siri] doesn’t know where Joe’s Diner is. And very often usually I find out that Android does,” he said. “That is actually the future of intelligence probably for computers getting smarter and getting artificial intelligence.”
Wozniak also discussed how developing partnerships with rivals, including Samsung, would open up more opportunities for greater innovation.
“There are good things I see on Samsung phones that I wish were in my iPhone,” he said. “I wish Apple would use them and could use them, and I don’t know if Samsung would stop us.”
By cross-licensing and sharing technology, he believes all products would improve.
“We’d go further,” Wozniak said. “I do wish they were more compatible. I believe you should have a world where you’ve got to license something at a fair price.”