Microsoft could extend Android with an open sourced replacement for the various Google Play Services.<p>Paying for Microsoft to host a replacement services layer for your app on Azure would be cheaper than paying Google a 30% cut once you got past a certain use threshold.<p>As a bonus you can mitigate Google's decision to walk back Android being open and simultaneously give people who have decided to un-Google their lives an alternative to moving to iOS which would risk them moving to a Mac at the same time.
If MS ends up launching phones based on AOSP like amazon, it could be interesting. Anything that reduces the near universal dependence on google play services really. My wishful thinking is that if AOSP ends up getting forked by 2-3 major players who become somewhat successful, we'll either get to some open standard for stuff that google play services provide, or webapps will become good enough that we won't need them.
Microsoft should re-start the Android emulation project (the project that eventually became the Subsystem for Linux in Win10) and make Windows 10 the ultimate OS that can run anything.
Microsoft doesn't need to be pushing their own Android distribution to be successful here. They're building a very compelling set of software that runs atop Android on any device, and this can be done while complying with Google's requirements for having Play services. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft's existing relationship with Samsung evolves into something where you can buy a Samsung device through Microsoft that comes preloaded with Microsoft Launcher, SwiftKey, Cortana, Edge, Office, etc while still including Google Play. They could also pursue this with other manufacturers or even with their own devices if they absolutely had to. Microsoft wants to get Android devices integrated with their services, but they don't need to be the app store in order to do that. That strategy is doomed to fail as Amazon already proved with Fire Phone.
Cool, don't forged about forced updates, telemetry and the "new version of OS - new device principle"; and M$ will repeat their Windows Phone success!
scrcpy : <a href="https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy</a><p>This application provides display and control of Android devices connected on USB (or over TCP/IP). It does not require any root access. It works on GNU/Linux, Windows and MacOS.<p>Did Microsoft have a choice?<p><a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-share-held-by-smartphone-operating-systems/" rel="nofollow">https://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-sha...</a>
First of all, Microsoft gets a cut of every Android phone sold[0].<p>Secondly, does anyone know why Microsoft quit competing when it came to mobile? It seems something so odd that future history books are going to point it out. I mean I really don't get it. Unless if they are planning to ramp up and go whole hog on Continuum and they don't want to worry about supporting older phones, which this lull allows them to do.<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-making-2bn-a-year-on-android-licensing-five-times-more-than-windows-phone/" rel="nofollow">https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-making-2bn-a-year...</a>
Does this mean they'll finally stop trying to foist the 'metro' blight onto desktop?<p>I have a feeling they will double down and it will now be an Android blight
...and Google plans to replace Android with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fuchsia" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fuchsia</a> OS in the future, does that makes any sense for Micro$oft, whats their plan?
Friday nonsense. I can’t conceive that MS would yet again hitch themselves to a failing os.<p>If you want to make money in mobile, you have to prioritize iOS.