Bill Gates Says His Preference for Android Over iPhone is Due to Pre-Installed Software

[sdwaltz]

What he said: "because I want to keep track of everything"
What he meant: "because I want to be tracked by everything"

 

[raccoontail]

If MSFT been smart and acquired RIM in the early 2000s, Apple would be half its current size. Blackberry devices that were natively integrated with office networks and Exchange would have dominated the business and government markets and iPhones would have never gained the traction they did.

 

[sdz]

I am irritated that this person once was (?) a software developer (?). He talks like my old mom.

 

[mi7chy]

So…
Essentially he uses Android because they pre-install Microsoft apps and that’s easier for him. Is he not able to install them on his own? I’m not sure I understand what he is saying other than it comes off as a bad excuse for basically “I go with Android because they sometimes pre-install my company’s software and Apple doesn’t” which if that’s the case I think people would respect the honesty. Just my thoughts.

It's integration with Windows which is probably of no interest for the <10% on non-Windows. While it's a nice option I disabled it since I prefer Google integration that universally works across all my Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, Android and Apple devices. For example, convenience of making/taking calls and messaging/SMS across all devices and even in browser over WIFI without carrier phone plan.

 

[MN7119]

Bill has been eating too much synthetic beef. That explains everything.

 

[sdz]

Bill has been eating too much synthetic beef. That explains everything.

Excellently analyzed.

 

[lakehouse85]

Further proof that he was never really that smart. Lucky, but not brilliant.

 

[tomashi]

He's been pretty anti-phone from the get go (I think nobody in his family was allowed apple products or something) so this makes sense.

 

[Robsdc]

Valuable opinion from the guy who gave us Vista and Zune as well as Windows Phone.

 

[markfc]

No talent, no vision, no class. Who cares what he thinks?

 

[Glideslope]

Who is Bill Gates? Is he that guy I read about decades ago who ripped off Apple’s interface after Apple ripped off Xerox?

 

[trip1ex]

his whole working life he competed with Apple.

he's probably softened a bit but no one I know at that age switches phones just to switch phones. They got better things to do.

 

[perplx]

Gates was never a tech visionary, he wrote a book called "The road ahead" in 1995 and it didn't mention the internet. He was just a ruthless businessman with very lucky timing.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I would have thought it would have been quicker and easier to install the Microsoft apps & services you need on an iPhone over uninstalling all the bloatware/crapware that comes preinstalled on many Androids.

You’re naive to think this is something Gates does himself. Probably has his assistant set everything up so he can just pick up a new phone and start using.

 

[jonnyb098]

Of course he loves bloat-ware. Gotta love a guy who was pretty much loathed by all for many years until he retired and became a "vaccine" expert. What a REINVENTION!

He will always be a Monopoly man.

 

[Wanted797]

Windows phone was actually a really great platform to use. It could have dominated and at least been more diffferent to iOS.

The issue wasn’t the software but the timing. Microsoft (thanks to Ballmer) was slow to react so they had barely any apps which just created a downward spiral.

 

[hot-gril]

Very true. A lot of that bloat can only be removed if you Root/Jailbreak your phone first. I find it much easier/better to Root, install a new Bootloader, install custom ROM.

Yeah, but what about the warranty? Well, since my phone is usually 2 years or older when I first get them, there is no warranty anymore. No issues.

Why does this even matter, saving a few megabytes? The real problem is when preinstalled software nags you, opens itself, etc. I don't know how it is on Android, but on an iPhone, the apps I don't use never really bother me.

Really the only nags I've encountered on iPhones are
1. software updates, remedied by having an old enough phone that I don't get any more of them
2. the Music app telling me about Apple Music when I'm just trying to play my library. It's only once every few months (or idk what even prompts it), but it's awful. It blocks the entire screen before the nag even loads, so it's just blank white for several seconds. Very out of character.

 

[Doomtomb]

You know what's funny is I feel more productive with Apple's first-party apps than I ever did with Microsoft's

 

[falainber]

So many Apple fans here contradict themselves. Most of them seemingly due to ignorance. It is typical for Apple fan to say that they prefer iPhones because of ecosystem. But that's essentially what Bill gates said too. Obviously, his preferred ecosystem is windows and Android (especially in Samsung incarnation) integrates with it much better than iOS. As others pointed out, it's not about the basic apps (like the browser and OneDrive). Samsung version of Android comes with the very same features that used to be unique to iOS/Mac integration. Samsung's Android and Windows basically have all of them now. Essentially people here are arguing that Apple ecosystem is worthless (since they don't see a value in the features Bill Gates said he appreciated).

 

[aloyouis]

doesn't even make sense.

• Set Bing as default search engine? - no problem
• Make Outlook default e-mail app? - no problem
• Make mobile edge (is that a thing?) default browser? - no problem
• Integrate one drive? - no problem

I would say the Office Apps are also far better optimised and integrated on iOS than Android.

Clearly he is just too lazy or hasn't used an iPhone much

There isn't much of anything that comes out of his mouth that I believe. Everything he says has some ulterior reason than what he is saying.

 

[jicon]

I guess ‘odd’ is kind of an exception when it comes to describing Bill Gates, don’t you think? What about Steve Jobs? He was borderline crazy, I would think ‘odd’ would be a complement for that man. I think when you look at ‘genius level’ people like Bill Gates, they don’t normally have qualities like others do, maybe that’s what separates them from being so different from others, because they rationalize and think on a completely different level that’s probably beyond our own understanding.

There's a four episode almost docuseries with him on Netflix, that I found interesting. It touches on his frustrations with the times he went to court countering the 'monopoly' label, brashness with others through the decades, but also some interesting things he's hoping to shift regarding water, disease, food, energy. We'd probably be in a better position if the Buffets, Bezos, and Jobs of the world worked in the same vein.

 

[Rafterman]

Valuable opinion from the guy who gave us Vista and Zune as well as Windows Phone.

Yes, the Windows Phone. Its predecessor the PocketPC made the iPhone possible.

 

[Maconplasma]

I am irritated that this person once was (?) a software developer (?). He talks like my old mom.

Well for one, he IS old. And number two being a software developer from the past doesn't keep him the millennial "cool factor" stage for a lifetime, so he's now just an old fart set in ways. He's treated the Mac community so poorly over several years I have zero respect for Gate$

 

[Shanghaichica]

Windows is more like android so it’s not surprising.

 

[Maconplasma]

Windows phone was actually a really great platform to use. It could have dominated and at least been more diffferent to iOS.

The issue wasn’t the software but the timing. Microsoft (thanks to Ballmer) was slow to react so they had barely any apps which just created a downward spiral.

I think we've had enough of Windows dominance. Must Microsoft have a monopoly on everything? 🙄