Microsoft has informed employees in China that, starting in September, they’ll only be able to use real iPhones for work, killing the use of Android-based phones from the workplace.
The US company will soon require Chinese-based employees to use only Apple Inc. devices to verify their identities when logging in to work computers or phones, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. The measure, part of Microsoft’s global Secure Future Initiative, will affect hundreds of workers across the Chinese mainland and is intended to ensure that all staff use the Microsoft Authenticator password manager and Identity Pass app.
The move highlights the fragmented nature of Android app stores in the country and the growing differences between Chinese and foreign mobile ecosystems. Unlike Apple’s iOS store, Google Play isn’t available in China, so local smartphone makers like Huawei Technologies Co. and Xiaomi Corp. operate their own platforms. Microsoft has chosen to block access from those devices to its corporate resources because they lack Google’s mobile services in the country, the message said.
Any staff using Android handsets — including devices made by Huawei or Xiaomi — will be provided with an iPhone 15, as a one-time purchase, the memo stated. The company will make iPhones available for collection at various hubs across China, including Hong Kong, where Google’s services are accessible.
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MacDailyNews Take: Congrats to Microsoft employees who’ve been slumming it with pretend iPhones all these years!
We’ll just leave these shots from Microsoft’s 2010 “iPhone funeral” here:
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