Welcome to Ask Jerry, where we talk about any and all the questions you might have about the smart things in your life. I'm Jerry, and I have spent the better part of my life working with tech. I have a background in engineering and R&D and have been covering Android and Google for the past 15 years.
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Why isn't Apple selling iOS?
Ed writes:
Google's Android operating system operates on many different platforms and brands of phones, so why don’t any brands use iOS or request to use it?
Ed asks a question here that I often think about — what if Apple licensed out its phone and tablet OS the way Google does, or Microsoft does for desktops and laptops? More importantly, has it ever been considered, and if not, why not?
I mean a lot of people would love it. Imagine the best phones out there, something like a Galaxy Fold, running iOS. You get the great and innovative physical hardware combined with the software many of us love to use. Or the fun form factor of a Galaxy Flip or Moto Razr. I'll bet a lot of people would buy it and even more people would want to buy it.
I'm quickly bounced back to reality when I remember one thing — Apple has no incentive to do this. Money may or may not be the root of all evil, but it is the root of every decision any tech company makes.
Cold hard cash
The iPhone is Apple's prime source of revenue. Without it, Apple couldn't afford to do the things it wants to do with other products like the iPad or MacBook. Without iPhone sales, Apple would look very different from what we see today.
Historically, Windows and Office are Microsoft's prime revenue streams. These two products have given Microsoft the cash to build a great cloud computing platform and build its Surface laptops. There is even enough money left over for"throw-away" products like phones running Android in case the idea takes off.
Android is not Google's biggest source of revenue. Android is a vehicle for monetization. Using software to ferry people into a system where each generates income isn't a new idea nor is Google the only company doing it, but Android is probably the most successful at it so far.
Each of these things is pretty different from the other but they help explain why Apple keeps iOS for itself. Apple depends on selling iPhones and there is too much competition for it to reinvent itself.
I'll Use Microsoft as an example again. The company came in at the right time with software that was so much better than anything else out there and everyone bought it. By today's standards, early versions of Windows and Office were terrible to use. But the computing age was new and Microsoft got in on the ground floor, amassing a fortune. It has leveraged this fortune to build other products that make money now that Windows and Office aren't the revenue stream of the future.
Google doesn't place as much importance on Android as a product because it just wants everyone to use the internet. Eyeballs on the web and web services are how Google makes money, regardless of the platform being used.
Android is a way to make computing more affordable because Google saw the importance of emerging markets like India and South America when they were "emerging". I remember speaking with some Google execs over 10 years ago and the most important thing was India's share of the world technology market. It was important that everyone in India who wanted a way to use the internet could afford to use the internet.
They were right, and as places like India turned into millions and millions of eyeballs on the web and Google's services, Google made a lot of money.
Apple, on the other hand, depends on people to purchase its hardware. To Apple, iOS is important because it is a way to sell iPhones, not the other way around. Apple has done a lot to maximize profits on the back of the iPhone and tailoring iOS for what it thinks is the best iPhone experience is one of the most important.
Apple could sell iOS to companies like Samsung or Xiaomi. I think both companies would be interested and buy it. But doing that would dilute and pollute the experience and prestige of owning the company's most important product: the iPhone.
