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Steve Wozniak’s comments on smart watches, Siri, and engineering mix personal recollections with pointed opinions—not a current product review or a verified transcript. In an interview with Samsung executive Jim Elliott at the company’s Tech Day in San Jose, he recalled why he built an Apple floppy-disk controller, admitted he had invented a familiar Apple I date, and described the watch features he found useful.
Why Wozniak said he made up the Apple I date
A date often repeated for the first time Wozniak showed Steve Jobs a working Apple I prototype was June 29, 1975. In the account by Tekla S. Perry for IEEE Spectrum, Wozniak said he had invented that date and kept repeating it: “You know I’m a prankster—I actually made up that date and just kept repeating it.” He thought the event happened weeks or months later, but did not give a corrected date. This is his recollection, not an independently established replacement date.
How a trip to Las Vegas motivated an engineering project
Wozniak recalled that Apple was going to be allowed into the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, but he was not among the three people initially selected to go. He asked whether the company could demonstrate a floppy disk, then spent two weeks building a controller. He said it used eight one-dollar chips and could do more than competing controllers. The prospect of the trip was part of his motivation: “But I was thinking if I did this, I would get to go to Vegas!”
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The story is a personal account of what energized him in that moment, not a general formula for motivating engineers. His broader point about predicting technology was similarly modest: “I’m the engineer, not the futurist.”
#1 Best Overall
- 📞 【Bluetooth 5.3 Calls & Smart Notifications】 Make and answer calls directly from your smartwatch with stable Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. Receive vibration alerts for calls and messages from Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and more.
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What Wozniak said about smart watches
At the time of the interview, Wozniak said he had moved from the smartphone to the smart watch as his favorite gadget. He liked having Apple Pay, boarding passes, and movie tickets available on the watch, saying, “I’ve got Apple Pay on the watch, boarding passes, movie tickets—everything is so easy!”
He contrasted that experience with an early Samsung Gear watch he had bought and returned after a day. As he remembered it, the device offered little beyond telling the time. These are Wozniak’s dated impressions of products he used at the time; they do not establish how current watches from either company compare.
Rank #2
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- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
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- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Wozniak’s humorous criticism of Siri
Wozniak said he had liked earlier versions of Siri because he could ask for California’s five largest lakes and receive an answer. He joked that after Apple acquired Siri, asking the same question led instead to lakeside real-estate developers. Perry’s report presents this as his humorous critique, not a test of Siri today or a technical assessment of the assistant’s capabilities.
His views on AI and corporate innovation
AI and the meaning of “intelligence”
Wozniak questioned whether calling computers “intelligent” implies a kind of thinking people truly understand. He also dismissed fears that computers would take over humanity. These were his opinions in the interview; the report does not provide technical evidence or validate a forecast.
Rank #3
- 👍【Your Ultimate Fitness Partner】With 120+ sport modes, this smart watch for android phones covers running, cycling, hiking, yoga, skiing, and more. It accurately tracks heart rate, steps, calories, distance, and activity time. Acting as your wrist-based coach, it helps optimize training intensity. IP68 waterproof design lets you train through sweat and rain. Unleash your fitness potential anywhere.
- 📞【Bluetooth Calling & Smart Alerts】Stay connected hands-free. Our smart watche for women features advanced Bluetooth 5.3 for stable calls directly from your wrist. The built-in HD speaker and mic deliver crystal-clear audio, while smart vibration alerts notify you of messages from apps like Facebook and WhatsApp. Perfect for driving, workouts, or busy days—never miss a call or important update again.
- ⌚【1.83" HD Touchscreen & 200+ Faces】Experience the vibrant full-color display, perfect for checking info on-the-go. Choose from 200+ faces or use your photo to match any style, from workouts to daily life. More than a watch—it's the android smartwatch that matches your life.
- 🚀 【Your 24/7 Wellness Companion for Smarter Choices】From busy workdays to restful nights, this smart watche for men is with you. It tracks your heart rate and stress during meetings, analyzes your deep and light sleep, and provides a morning readiness report. It also features female health tracking. All your data is clearly displayed, helping you make smarter daily choices for a healthier, more balanced life.
- 💖 【7-Day Battery & Universal Compatibility】Say goodbye to daily charging. This smart watch lasts up to 7 days on a single 2-hour charge and stays ready for 30 days in standby mode. It seamlessly pairs with both iOS and Android devices, including Apple iPhone, Samsung, and Google Pixel. Enjoy total freedom from battery anxiety and stay connected effortlessly.
A disruption team reporting to the board
Wozniak argued that companies should have inventors and a “Chief Disruption Officer,” with a team reporting directly to the board rather than to the CEO. His proposal reflects his view of how businesses might protect disruptive thinking. It is an opinion, not an established governance standard or a proven prescription for innovation.
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Tetris and Breakout
Wozniak recalled sending Nintendo Power a Tetris high-score photograph under the name “Evets Kainzow”—his own name spelled backward—and being surprised when the magazine printed it. He also recalled building Breakout for Jobs, who was working under contract to Atari. Wozniak said he approached a score of nearly one million before the game crashed.
Rank #4
- 1.83" Touch Screen & 100+ Dials: Elevate your style with a smart watch that looks as good as it performs. The vibrant display, available up to 1.83 inches, delivers crisp visuals and smooth responsiveness, with excellent sunlight visibility and adjustable brightness for any setting. Our smart watch has hundreds of customizable watch faces, or upload your own photos to make it truly yours. The lightweight aluminum build and durable 2.5D glass strike the perfect balance between sleek design and everyday durability. Whether you’re in the office or at the gym, this is a smart watch that fits your style seamlessly
- 24/7 Health Monitoring & Smart Reminders: Designed exclusively for women’s daily health care, recording female menstrual periods for better lifestyle adjustments, our T7 smart watch is your wearable wellness guardian that stays by your side around the clock. This smartwatch is fitted with high-precision optical sensors and up to 10 days of battery life, delivering uninterrupted 24-hour monitoring of your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and stress levels. The smartwatch automatically tracks your sleep throughout the night, breaks down your sleep into deep, light, awake to help you say goodbye to restless nights and build consistent, healthy sleep routines
- Bluetooth Call & Smart Notification Center: Stay connected and in control with the T7 smart watch that delivers crystal-clear Bluetooth calling—meaning zero lag and crisp audio, even in noisy environments. Answer or make calls directly from your wrist using the high-definition speaker and microphone. The AI assistant is built right into the smart watch, so you can set reminders, check the weather, and control music hands-free. Real-time notifications for texts, emails, and apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram go straight to your wrist, so you never miss what matters
- Fitness Tracker & IP67 Water Resistant: The smart watch track over multi-sport modes—from running to yoga and hiking, with accurate measurements of steps, distance, calories burned, and workout duration. High-precision sensors give you the data you need to analyze performance and dial in your training. Built with an IP67 waterproof rating, the smart watch is comfortable for sweat, rain, and handwashing (not for swimming or hot showers). Whether you’re an athlete or just staying active, this is the all-day companion that works as hard as you do
- Seamless Compatibility & Multi-Functionality: The T7 smart watch compatible with most iOS and Android smartphones, so whether you’re on an iPhone or Android, pairing is quick and reliable. Battery life goes the distance, up to 10 days of regular use on a single charge, with fast charging that gets you back up and running in around 2 hours. Beyond fitness and calls, this smart watch packs in the everyday tools you’ll actually use: stopwatch, timer, remote shutter, check the weather, find phone, calculator, and even track menstrual cycles. Sedentary reminders help you stay moving during long workdays. It’s the kind of smart convenience that simplifies your day, right from your wrist
A costly computing-class anecdote
Recalling his time at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Wozniak said he wrote programs that printed mathematical tables and that his class used five times its computing budget. He described the overrun as about $50,000 in today’s dollars and said he could not return. These are figures from his anecdote as reported by Perry, not independently verified institutional records or an independently calculated inflation estimate. He later attended De Anza College.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteSmall projects with Raspberry Pi
Wozniak said Apple’s success had sidetracked him from the pleasure of writing programs. He described rediscovering that enjoyment through personal Raspberry Pi projects, including home networking with OpenVPN and Ethernet and taking pictures when motion was detected. The account does not specify a Pi model, parts list, or instructions for building those systems. He summed up the pleasure of tinkering this way: “It’s fun, fun, fun, doing project after project.”
Further reading
For more of Wozniak’s own account of his career, Perry’s report names his 2007 book, iWoz. The book is useful background, but its mention does not independently verify every recollection in the interview report.
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