Gates reflects on Microsoft's missed mobile opportunity
Bill Gates, considered a technological visionary, admits that his biggest mistake was neglecting the mobile operating systems market. This oversight allowed Google to create Android, which dominated the market and achieved the success that could have belonged to Microsoft.
Bill Gates, the well-known founder of Microsoft, is considered one of the richest people in the world and a great technological visionary. Despite numerous successes, Gates points to a significant mistake that greatly influenced the direction of new technology development.
One such mistake, as he admitted, was overlooking the potential of mobile operating systems, which allowed Google to dominate the market with Android.
Gates admits to a mistake
Gates admitted that insufficient engagement in the development of the mobile market proved to be surprisingly costly for his company, with losses reaching even 327 billion pounds. In 2007, when Apple introduced the first iPhone with the iOS system, Microsoft had a chance to respond with its own solution. However, this opportunity was not seized, benefiting Google.
The debut of Android in September 2008 strengthened Google's position in the market. Although Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 7 in 2010, it was already too late to reverse the dominance of Apple and Google. Gates emphasises that the key problem for Windows Phone was the limited number of available apps. The closed nature of the system resembled iOS, while Android, being an open system, quickly gained user approval thanks to its rich offering of applications.
The competition took advantage
Rich Miner, one of the creators of Android, points out that the desire to create a competitive system against Microsoft was a key motivation in the work on Android. As a result, Android became an innovative system that surpassed Microsoft's mobile initiatives, attracting software developers and gaining an advantage in the market.
Android is an operating system based on the Linux kernel, created by Android Inc., which was acquired by Google in 2005. The first version of the system was released in 2008 and was mainly intended for smartphones, offering openness and modification capabilities for device manufacturers. Over the years, Android has become one of the most popular mobile systems in the world, evolving with new features such as support for smartwatches, TVs, cars, and IoT devices.
