Google + Microsoft?
File this under fantasy. I don't see it happening. Ever. Not that I think it wholly impractical either. But, when you read it this I'm sure you'll agree that it is unlikely.
To begin, I think that Google and Microsoft represent the best that the tech world has to offer to consumers.
Side note: Apple had never really tried to break of out of their elitism bubble except when they released the iPad Mini and the iPhone 5c. Aside from those momentary lapses, Apple has been almost exclusively about the Apple ecosystem and overpriced, designer electronics.
With all of the patent suits settled and Google and Microsoft seeming to get along, it opens me up to imagining how deep a partnership between the two companies could run. I've long criticized Apple and Google for foisting ecosystems on us that had no developer story. And many others have long criticized Microsoft for their failings in mobile. But, between the two you have the most successful mobile platform and the most successful desktop/laptop platform. And that is a powerful combination. A deep collaboration could cement both of those positions much more strongly.
Much as I like Windows Phone, if Microsoft, with some leeway from Google were to produce a .Net enabled Android with support for live tiles and either their store in addition to Google Play or some sort of merged store you would have a "super phone". If Microsoft contributed that .Net runtime to the AOSP project and in return Google allowed Microsoft to use Google Services including the Play store in their Android variant we would have a very interesting product that would likely cement Android even further as the primary OS for another 5-10 years with little to fear.
On the desktop side, it would be nice to see Microsoft and Google working together to get an even better Android development solution in Visual Studio. Make Windows the best platform to design for Android, whether you choose .Net or Java as your choice. This would allow Google to hedge their bets a bit against a potential Oracle loss. They could deprecate support for Java in favor of .Net over time.
Microsoft could also help Google while boosting their own image by shipping with Google products and services pre-installed and allowing the user to select a more Google centric experience during the OOBE phase. Google apps and services would need to be able to be treated as 1st party experiences, but it would eliminate a lot of the perception that Microsoft is evil and given Google's current rep would likely have a huge impact on how people felt about Microsoft as well in a positive manner.
Then, Microsoft just needs to formally kill off Windows Phone (while providing a path for existing devices to the new OS) and Google would need to kill ChromeOS (offering through their partnership a free upgrade to Windows 10).
Ideally the Play Store and Windows Store on mobile would merge into a single entity with profits being split (yes, this part is downright insane, but for the end user a single store front is important).
What does the world get out of such an insane partnership?
To begin, I think that Google and Microsoft represent the best that the tech world has to offer to consumers.
Side note: Apple had never really tried to break of out of their elitism bubble except when they released the iPad Mini and the iPhone 5c. Aside from those momentary lapses, Apple has been almost exclusively about the Apple ecosystem and overpriced, designer electronics.
With all of the patent suits settled and Google and Microsoft seeming to get along, it opens me up to imagining how deep a partnership between the two companies could run. I've long criticized Apple and Google for foisting ecosystems on us that had no developer story. And many others have long criticized Microsoft for their failings in mobile. But, between the two you have the most successful mobile platform and the most successful desktop/laptop platform. And that is a powerful combination. A deep collaboration could cement both of those positions much more strongly.
Much as I like Windows Phone, if Microsoft, with some leeway from Google were to produce a .Net enabled Android with support for live tiles and either their store in addition to Google Play or some sort of merged store you would have a "super phone". If Microsoft contributed that .Net runtime to the AOSP project and in return Google allowed Microsoft to use Google Services including the Play store in their Android variant we would have a very interesting product that would likely cement Android even further as the primary OS for another 5-10 years with little to fear.
On the desktop side, it would be nice to see Microsoft and Google working together to get an even better Android development solution in Visual Studio. Make Windows the best platform to design for Android, whether you choose .Net or Java as your choice. This would allow Google to hedge their bets a bit against a potential Oracle loss. They could deprecate support for Java in favor of .Net over time.
Microsoft could also help Google while boosting their own image by shipping with Google products and services pre-installed and allowing the user to select a more Google centric experience during the OOBE phase. Google apps and services would need to be able to be treated as 1st party experiences, but it would eliminate a lot of the perception that Microsoft is evil and given Google's current rep would likely have a huge impact on how people felt about Microsoft as well in a positive manner.
Then, Microsoft just needs to formally kill off Windows Phone (while providing a path for existing devices to the new OS) and Google would need to kill ChromeOS (offering through their partnership a free upgrade to Windows 10).
Ideally the Play Store and Windows Store on mobile would merge into a single entity with profits being split (yes, this part is downright insane, but for the end user a single store front is important).
What does the world get out of such an insane partnership?
- UWP apps that run on all Windows 10 and all Android devices.
- Microsoft loses a mobile OS to call their own, but gets access to the largest mobile app store.
- Google solves their developer story by having a solid answer on what platform to develop Android apps on.
- Google loses Chrome OS, but gains a favorable position on a more popular desktop/laptop solution.
- Android gains Microsoft's knowledge of how to build a properly updateable OS.
- Android gains Microsoft's enterprise knowledge and apps.
- Google Devs get access to .Net and Visual Studio and through that the ability to not only continue to target Android with a single codebase, but to also target desktops, Xbox, Hololens and more.
As I stated at the beginning, this is really more fantasy than reality. It ignores a lot of hurdles and problems.
But it allows both Microsoft and Google to abandon areas where they aren't making headway under the guise of calling it a compromise or collaboration. It also allows each party to make headway in the market they abandoned. Being pre-installed and part of the OOBE for Windows should get more laptop users on Google's services and having an Android OS and presence directly within the Android ecosystem should boost Microsoft's presence there as well.
My prediction on when this will happen: Never.
Android's success has largely put Google in the frame of mind held by Microsoft during the Windows XP years. They won't abandon any markets they've entered. The Pixel C shows that with ChromeOS flailing they just choose to throw Android at the problem. If Android fails there too, expect a whole new OS that runs Android apps but is more geared to laptops rather than a concession of any sort, especially to Microsoft.
Microsoft could theoretically abandon Windows Phone. But it is much more likely that they would just switch to x86/64 Windows 10 first. If that failed I could see them exiting the market entirely. Though, it is possible that such if x86/64 Windows 10 failed that they might consider Android. But, only through a deep partnership that would allow them to do their thing while offering their users the best of the Android ecosystem would they have a chance of winning even then. And I think they know this.
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