Speaking at the QUT Business Leader’s Forum in Brisbane on Friday, Mr Wozniak brandished his new iPhone 5 in one hand and then his older iPhone 4S in his other.
“It’s such an important event for mankind and for history every time Apple introduces one of these new products I want to be there. I want to be a part of it. It’s almost as if you’re following the Grateful Dead or something,” he said.
“But I got it [the iPhone5] 17 hours before the people in California so I beat the Americans.”
Mr Wozniak earlier told the audience about his fascination with transistor radios as a kid, which launched him into a career at Hewlett Packard and then at Apple where with co-founder Steve Jobs he developed the first PC, the Apple I and Apple II.
But Mr Wozniak, who left Apple in 1987 but is still a shareholder, said he believe Apple would still be able to be a market leader after the death of Mr Jobs last year.
While he was the creative genius behind the early Apple products, Mr Jobs was the ultimate salesman.
“I never set out to make any money. I just wanted to be friendly and liked by everyone. I would develop products, after product, after product and Steve would finds ways to turn it into dollars,” he said.