In an interview with CNBC, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that Apple is an amazing company, and it appears that Apple’s strong profit position in the tech industry has impressed Gates.
“Apple’s an amazing company, and the multiple’s not gigantic. The top tech companies do have a very strong profit position right now but Apple has the most of all,” Bill Gates said.
Chris Capossela, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer, said in a recent interview that the old rivalry between Microsoft and Apple is over. This is due to the firm’s new strategy which involves bringing apps and services to Apple’s platform and devices. Similarly, Apple is also bringing its applications to the Microsoft Store.
“I think Warren has applied great thinking there,” said Gates. “It’s not like a tech speculative company where it’s still losing money or anything.”
Microsoft and Apple are old rivals, they have competed against each other in PC and smartphone markets. The cultural shift has however forced Microsoft and Apple to work closer together. Needless to say, the cooperation between Microsoft and Apple is ultimately benefiting their users, as both Microsoft and Apple are developing apps for iOS and Windows respectively.
Microsoft has been investing in Apple’s ecosystem for a while now, and Apple is also supporting Windows 10 platform with the new iTunes app.
It appears that Microsoft no longer sees Apple as an enemy, probably because of the firm’s new cross-platform strategy. As part of this strategy, Microsoft is bringing apps and services to Cupertino’s own platform and devices.
It’s not a secret that Microsoft developed more apps for rival platforms than its own Windows Phone. Microsoft has long been criticized for investing too much in Android phones and iPhones. While the Windows Phone users disliked the strategy, Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy is taking shape quite nicely. Microsoft aims to improve the integration between Windows 10-powered PC and iPhone with Edge browser and Cortana.
Yesterday, at Build 2018 developer conference, the company announced Windows Timeline support for Android and iPhone, the feature is also bringing the smartphones and Windows 10 PCs one step closer.