Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has a history of voicing his thoughts about the company and its direction in public interviews. Recently, he discussed his idea for Apple Inc. to partner with any smartphone company in China to produce a cell phone that isn't necessarily an iPhone, but one that would do well on the local market.
For a long time Apple has been trying, with no success, to get into the Chinese market.
"We haven't cracked the Chinese market as well as we could," Wozniak said while speaking to Reuters in Singapore. He admitted that the concept of creating different products for different parts of the world might sound "almost treasonous" coming from an Apple Inc. executive. The company has a long history of branding itself with original products and holding on tight to a flagship device like the iPhone.
The device Wozniak is pitching likely wouldn't be called an iPhone. Instead Apple would put its brand on a device in order to sell it but largely leave the development to the Chinese company. This would ensure that Apple has a claim in the Chinese market where the iPhone only makes up about 4.8 percent of the overall sales. It would appear that the iPhone is just not for them.
Any new product that is a joint venture between Apple and a local partner might have "totally different features and work in a totally different way" from an iPhone.
Apple will be unveiling its newest flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5S, on September 10. It is rumored to come with a low cost version called the iPhone C, as well as being featured in gold champagne and silver graphite. Unfortunately, Wozniak dodged confirming any rumors about the September 10 unveiling.
You can see the full interview between Reuters and Steve Wozniak below.
