By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
We're at a completely different place in mobile ecosystems than we were years ago. The era of closed systems and software exclusive to specific hardware is quickly comng to an end.
Google has always had its software and services available on iOS (not so much on Windows Phone or BlackBerry). Under Satya Nadella, Microsoft has been relentless in making its services and apps available to Android and iOS and now it seems Apple is thinking of putting some of their apps and services on Android.
As the smartphone market slows down, Apple has to find new ways to grow and if hardware isn't growing at the rate they want then growing services and apps makes sense. Tim Cook recently held a Town Hall meeting in Apple's Campus in Cupertino where he hinted that more Apple-made Android apps coming to the market. Making Apple Music available to Android was a no brainer and the company's way of testing the waters but there's room for more.
Off the top of my head I would love to see iCloud services available to Android, Messages and FaceTime might be too much to ask given these are the crown jewels of the iOS ecosystem but having them available universally would be awesome specially for users who may own a Mac or MacBook but use Android devices.
Of course, in order to do this, Apple might need to tighten up its apps and services as well as navigate the often unknown waters of releasing apps on Android. I think this could be a win for Apple as services and ecosystems begin to supercede hardware and devices as possible income streams moving forward.
Source: Fortune