Steve Wozniak knows a little something about consumer electronics. He co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in the 1970s and invented the Apple II, the computer that helped jumpstart the PC revolution. The "Woz," as his fans have affectionately nicknamed him, was in Plano, Texas, on Monday at the opening of Capital One's Innovation Center. He took a few minutes to talk to NBC News by phone about the Apple Watch, Oculus Rift and why he loves his Tesla Model S so much.
There have been a lot of smartwatch releases lately, including the Apple Watch. Is this technology just hype or is it here to stay?
I have tried some smartwatches. I was positive going in, but I got rid of them after half a day. They were just in the way between me and my smartphone. They're like those Bluetooth earpieces we used to wear. We used to show them off for one week and then we would just get rid of them.
I am kind of negative on smartwatches. I have been hoping that Apple would be the company that would make one that is different from the others. In appearance and functionality, it is kind of different, so I will give it a try when it comes out.
I won't prejudge it. I don't know if it's going to last long for me — which means forever — or not. I would be very disappointed if the battery life was too short.
How about virtual reality headsets, like the Oculus Rift?
I have briefly tried them on. I'll tell you, the whole world changes for you when you put those on. This is something that is going to be really big. There are other headsets coming out that might be higher quality than the Oculus Rift, so I can't judge all of them yet.
But I think that anyone who tries it on will say, "Oh my God, I'm immersed in a world in a way that I never imagined." I think it's going to be the greatest thing as a gaming platform.
How about electric cars? Are you a big fan of Tesla?
I own a Tesla. I like to try new technologies, but I don't make big purchases like a car without my wife, so it took quite awhile of me sending her links daily about the Tesla. She finally said, "Let's go out for a test drive."
We ordered one, waited six months, and I got to the top of the list. The week it was due I canceled because I got cold feet.
I didn't want my wife to worry about the battery running out on the freeway and how to take care of it. Then Elon Musk got on my case.
Finally one day my wife said "You can order it if you want."
We love it more than any other car we have. The car is not only great, but you get free charging on the road and free Internet for the life of the car. That's unheard of. It's a real shocker how they market that car, it's like they're marketing consumer electronics.
Wait, Elon Musk was pressuring you to buy a Tesla?
He was kind of saying I wasn't a true Silicon Valley boy if I ordered it, canceled it and bought a gas-guzzler like a Mercedes instead.
