Not that the thought ever passed the mind of Apple’s board of directors

Mar 14, 2014 19:51 GMT  ·  By

A transcript from an interactive session with Steve Wozniak moderated by TV anchor Brent Goff at Cebit reveals that Apple’s co-founder still believes strongly in the company he and Steve Jobs built in the ‘70s.

Goff recalls an analyst asking for Tim Cook's resignation after the company’s stock took a tumble. Now Wozniak was asked for his opinion on the matter.

To which Woz replied, “I don't agree. Cook has been at the helm of Apple for a long enough time. We haven't seen what new categories of products are being developed secretly.”

Among those products is believed to be the iWatch, a wearable computer that some think will resemble the Nike fuelband. Wozniak seems convinced Cook is cooking up something.

“Who knows what's going on in the company. But we have had stiff competition in the smartphones arena. Unfortunately, a lot of other companies came up with great products.”

“But look at who is number one as far as sales, profits and company valuation are concerned. Tim Cook is a hard worker and he is very good at execution. I don't know him too closely. But, I'm willing to wait for a longer time,” said Wozniak.

Asked what he thinks Apple would have done today had Steve Jobs been alive, Wozniak said, “there is too much of expectation from Apple.”

On the topic of what technologies are closest to him, the modest Woz enumerated things like the iPhone, MacBook, and “laser beam projectors and smart products that do new things.”

He also admitted he couldn’t rely on tablets for his day-to-day computing, “I live with both the worlds, but the computer is more important overall.”

Wozniak hasn’t been on Apple’s payroll for decades. He also has very little idea of what’s going on inside the secret labs at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. But the media still turns to him with every occasion to pick his brain and see what he thinks is in the cards for the valuable tech company.

A pioneer of personal computing, Wozniak is more-often-than-not right about Apple’s short-term evolution. His confidence in the high ranks is testimony that he believes Apple is in good hands with Tim Cook at the helm. However, 2014 will be a crucial year for the Cupertino giant. This year is said to mark the first all-new product unveiling under Tim Cook.