March 02, 2020
Confirmation – Apple Is Opening Up Its’ Ecosystem
Apple Weighs Loosening Restrictions
• Company considers letting users change web browser, email app • Spotify, Pandora may be allowed to stream directly on HomePod
Apple Inc. is considering giving rival apps more prominence on iPhones and iPads and opening its HomePod speaker to third-party music services after criticism the company provides an unfair advantage to its in-house products.
Confirmation – Apple Is Opening Up Its’ Ecosystem
We predicted this on 1/9/19 in our posting here : https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6639168394677547008/ (click on the link to get you to the posting on our website).
It is clear that Apple is now starting to make some of their crown jewels and high growth products (Homepod) more readily accessible to 3rd parties.
Could this be part of a change in the regulatory sentiment that is affecting all tech companies (monopoly investigations) or is it specific to Apple in the context of some of the in-progress court cases that speak to how Apple has a closed ecosystem especially relative to that of Android/Google/Microsoft at the platform and OEM level.
We think it is the both of the above plus the natural impact of moving towards a “Services” business model.
Any company that decides to get into the “Services” business will be forced to maximize their TAM and ensure that they aren’t beholden to any single hardware/OS platform.
You will have seen Microsoft adopt this strategy with their crown jewels in Office and their entire software/SaaS suite. They have embraced : Linux, MacOS/iOS, Android, etc.
Expect Apple to follow Microsoft’s move and embrace a more open ecosystem approach in order to maximize the service potential as it looks to compete against those companies that have a ubiquitous offer (not limited to O/S or Hardware).
Confirmation – Apple Is Opening Up Its’ Ecosystem
Back