Steve Wozniak seems to believe that Android has quite a bit more potential than iOS, the flagship platform – at least by revenue – of the consumer electronics giant he helped co-found with the late Steve Jobs.

Wozniak stressed that while he uses an iPhone as his main handset, he thinks Google managed to get ahead of Apple in some regards. Specifically, Wozniak cited better GPS navigation in Android, along the superior voice-command functions. He also had some comments about the iPhone, which can easily be considered as criticism in the right light.

From his interview with The Daily Beast:

“The people I recommend the iPhone 4S for are the ones who are already in the Mac world, because it’s so compatible, and people who are just scared of computers altogether and don’t want to use them. The iPhone is the least frightening thing. For that kind of person, who is scared of complexity, well, here’s a phone that is simple to use and does what you need it to do.”

Overall, Wozniak seems to be favoring the theory that Android may have the same impact on iOS that Windows had on the Mac. However, this time Android has several definite advantages in terms of features, as well as its app ecosystem according to Wozniak – an edge that Windows lacked in its early stages. What both the platforms have in common is that they’re not as shut off as the products in Apple ecosystem, which has always been kept as closed as possible.

Woz miffed at Apple’s Anobit acquisition?

There’s some interesting background involved. Wozniak is a long-time acquaintance of Andy Rubin, the main in charge of Android, and after leaving Apple he has gotten himself involved with Fusion-io as their chief scientist.  Apple is a customer of Fusion’s flash-based storage solutions, but in December Apple acquired Anobit, another flash company that provided Apple with its solutions.

There’s a number of reasons the Woz could choose one platform over another, but it’s always interesting to hear perspective from such an influential personality in the tech sphere.  If the Woz prefers Android handsets to the iPhone now, just imagine what he’ll think next year.