A new report from Bloomberg shows that the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft has returned. While the tension arose during the Epic Games test, the two companies are ready to compete on everything from cloud computing to mixed reality.
For the past few years, Apple and Microsoft seemed to be on good terms. For example, Microsoft’s Office and other applications began to appear on the iPad and iPhone, and a Redmond executive was even invited to an Apple product launch. The company also made it easy to use Xbox game controllers on its devices, as Microsoft embraced Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard support in its iPadOS apps.
But around November, when Apple introduced the first Mac with the M1 chip, things started to change. The company hired actor John Hodgman, known as the “PC guy,” to promote its new Macs. Later, Intel, losing Apple’s long-term partnership, hired “Mac guy” to promote PCs with technology Intel instead of Macs and iPads.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that another breaking point was Microsoft’s attempt to introduce its cloud gaming service for iOS devices, and Apple did not allow the company to launch the product as intended:
“An application would allow users to pay a monthly fee to Microsoft and stream dozens of different game titles from the cloud. The service was supposed to do for games what Netflix did for videos, appease gamers and turn Apple devices into a more powerful gaming platform backed by Xbox, one of the hottest names in the industry. But Microsoft never launched the service as intended, failing to persuade Apple to loosen App Store rules prohibiting all-in-one gaming services.
(…) A few months after concerns about the ban on streaming apps were made public, Apple changed the rules. Microsoft can now launch a cloud gaming service, but each game must be downloaded separately, defeating the purpose of an all-in-one solution.
Gurman cites other reasons when Microsoft began urging antitrust regulators in the United States and Europe to examine Apple’s practices and the growing market share of the Mac, while Windows PCs have stalled.
In the long term, both companies will compete in the same segments, as Apple plans to launch a mixed reality headset in 2022, which could be a problem for Microsoft’s HoloLens.
Gurman also says that both companies “are also competing for talent in AI and cloud infrastructure, two key battlefields going forward.”
What we know for now is that the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft has returned and will divide tech geeks for years to come, the Mac and PC guys will soon clash again.
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