San Francisco, Nov 19 (DPA) Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has praised Google's smartphone operating system Android and predicted that it will soon surpass the iPhone operating system in both quantity and quality.

The comments by the man who invented the first Mac computer came as Android-powered phones are fast catching up with Apple's iPhones in market share, and were the starkest illustration to date at how well Google has managed to close the gap with Apple's once unassailable iPhone.

"The Apple phone has very few weaknesses," Wozniak told Netherlands newspaper De Telegraaf in an interview posted Thursday. "When it comes to quality, the iPhone is leading."

But he conceded that "Android phones have more features" and deliver more buying options for those who don't want to be limited to a single device.

In addition, Wozniak told the publication that eventually the quality of Android will match Apple's operating system and much like Windows in the desktop space, Google's mobile platform will become the "dominant" option in the mobile market.