How Steve Ballmer may have just agreed with Android co-founder for Bill Gates being responsible for Microsoft losing $400 billion-plus in smartphone war
Steve Ballmer
, former CEO of
Microsoft
recently admitted how overconfidence in Windows prevented the software giant from capitalizing on the smartphone market. Speaking on the Acquired podcast, Ballmer said, 'We were too confident,' as he reflected on Microsoft's past strategy of pushing Windows into markets where it didn't fit, instead of building solutions tailored to specific platforms. His remarks echoes with Android co-founder
Rich Miner
who – earlier this year – attributed Microsoft's loss of smartphone wars to Android to
Bill Gates
's decision.
In an X post in January, Miner wrote 'I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC - stifling innovation. So it's always funny for me to hear Gates whine about losing mobile to Android'.
'I helped Orange launch the first
Windows Mobile
phone in 2002, the SPV. I worried MSFT might end up controlling mobile like they did the PC, I wanted something more open. So, sorry Bill, you're more responsible for losing the $400B than you realize,' he then stated.
What Steve Ballmer said on Microsoft losing the smartphone war
Stating that the company was 'too confident', Ballmer admitted on the podcast: 'I don't think we stuck with Windows too long. I think what we did is we tried to put Windows in places that it didn't naturally go.'
He pointed to Windows Mobile and automotive applications as key examples, where Microsoft's push to use Windows APIs and interfaces led to forced and unnatural user experiences.
During the podcast, Ballmer revealed that Microsoft's strategy was driven by a mix of 'paranoia and confidence' in Windows, which the company saw as its 'birthright' and 'permission to enter' new markets. This mindset influenced its push into areas like media center applications and TV integration, where simplified versions of Windows struggled to match the performance and user experience of purpose-built solutions.
OnePlus Pad 3 Unboxing and first look: What's in the box?
AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Bad news for employees of this company as it plans to sack over 1000 employees, not Narayana Murthy's Infosys, TCS, Google, IBM
(Representational image: freepik) New Delhi: American multinational corporation and IT giant Microsoft Corporation will cut more than 1000 jobs as the conglomerate is rearranging its staff to support its ambitious Artificial Intelligence initiatives. This will be Microsoft's third significant layoff wave of 2025. Most of the jobs that will be eliminated in early July will be from the sales department. Microsoft's new fiscal year This particular time of early July coincides with the beginning of the company's new fiscal year, according to Bloomberg and the Times of India. As mentioned above, Microsoft is reshuffling its staff to support its ambitious Artificial Intelligence initiatives for which it is doubling down on efficiency and strategic realignment as AI investments mount up. Sales Division in third round of layoffs This third round of layoffs is considerably more focused on customer-facing positions than the earlier two rounds, which were mainly focused on engineers and developers. The most affected would be the employees in Sales and Marketing department which accounts for about 45,000 of Microsoft's 228,000 workers. In the first two rounds of layoffs, Microsoft fired around 2,300 employees in Washington this year. Earlier in 2023, the company had fired 3,200 people, which was the biggest layoffs round. Reportedly, Microsoft had dropped a hint about this move in June 2024 as it relieved 1,000 mixed-reality and Azure roles. Apart from that, the company started selling software to outside companies in April as it concentrated on small and mid-sized business sectors. Experts say that apart from the sales positions, other departments might also be impacted. In May, the company had laid off more than 6,000 people in a 3% cut of its workforce. Out of which 1,985 employees affected were from Washington. Investments in realm of Artificial Intelligence In the proverbial 'keeping up with the times' and adapting to current trends, Microsoft is now emphasising more on AI as it tries to stay ahead in a fast-changing technology landscape. The tech giant is investing heavily into data centres and AI research to support growing demand from businesses that are adopting AI tools and services. The Bloomberg report further said that Microsoft has planned capital expenditure of around Rs 6.6 lakh crore ($80 billion) for the ongoing financial year. A big chunk of this expenditure will go into expanding data centre infrastructure as the aim is to reduce pressure on existing facilities that support AI services. Layoffs in the tech sector are continuously troubling IT professionals. Recently, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has warned that the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the corporate workforce will eventually lead to job cuts. After the COVID-19 pandemic, big tech companies like Amazon, Meta and Google laid off thousands of workers to reduce their staff. Now, another tech giant, Microsoft, has given a live, sombre, and somewhat gloomy presentation.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Nothing Phone 3 To Debut With Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 And Major Updates
Last Updated: Nothing Phone 3, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, launches in India on July 1. In less than two weeks from now, Nothing will launch its Nothing Phone 3 smartphone in the international market. The UK brand has been teasing key details about the upcoming device on social media. Recently, Nothing co-founder and Head of Marketing Akis Evangelidis hinted towards the software update policy of the company for the new handset. It would mean that the tech brand is looking forward to providing the longest software support for Nothing Phone 3. On X, Evangelidis shared that the upcoming smartphone will be the company's 'first true flagship and a major step up from Phone (2)". For this, they have opted for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, which he stated was 'Qualcomm's latest top-tier chip with an all–big core setup, making it even more efficient." Phone (3) is our first true flagship and a major step up from Phone (2).For it we went with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 – Qualcomm's latest top-tier chip with an all–big core setup, making it even more efficient. Paired with all the optimisations we've made in Nothing OS, the… — Akis Evangelidis (@AkisEvangelidis) June 17, 2025 In the comments section, one X user asked why they did not go for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In reply, Evangelidis wrote, '8 Gen 3 has a weaker GPU, NPU, connectivity and ISP – and default software support is 4 & 4. Phone (3) will have 5 & 7." While Evangelidis did not provide enough details, his post indicates Nothing Phone 3 will be made available with '5 and 7" software update and not '4 and 4". This means the new smartphone will receive five years of Android OS updates as well as seven years of security patches. If it happens, this would mark a major upgrade over the earlier software support cycles. The Nothing Phone 2, which came out in 2023, offered three years of major Android updates along with four years of security updates. The company assured that the recent Nothing Phone 3a Pro will have three years of Android upgrades and six years of security updates. Notably, tech giants like Google and Samsung have been offering seven generations of Android upgrades with their flagship devices. Meanwhile, Evangelidis has teased that the image quality on Nothing Phone 3 is getting a 'big upgrade with the new Spectra 18-bit Triple ISP." 'It allows for real-time segmentation of up to 12 layers and helps separate and enhance different elements in your photos – so you'll see much better detail, colour accuracy, etc," he added. Nothing Phone 3 will be launched in global markets, including India, on July 1, 2025. Fans can buy it on Flipkart in the country.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Microsoft and OpenAI may call off their partnership: What is the biggest reason of dispute between the two companies
Microsoft is prepared to abandon high-stakes negotiations with OpenAI over their multibillion-dollar partnership as the ChatGPT maker pursues conversion to a for-profit company, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The software giant has considered halting complex talks with the $300 billion AI startup if critical issues, including Microsoft's future stake size, remain unresolved. The two companies had issued a joint statement emphasizing their "long-term, productive partnership" and expressing optimism about continuing to "build together for years to come." However, the Financial Times reports that Microsoft would rely on its existing commercial contract through 2030 if negotiations fail, unless offered terms equal to or better than current arrangements. Revenue-sharing deal at center of dispute Under their current agreement established in 2019, Microsoft holds exclusive rights to sell OpenAI's models and receives 20% of revenues up to $92 billion. The companies have battled over Microsoft's equity stake in a restructured OpenAI, with discussions ranging from 20% to 49% ownership in exchange for Microsoft's $13 billion investment. OpenAI faces a year-end deadline to complete its corporate conversion or risk losing billions in investor funding, including a potential $10 billion reduction from SoftBank's $30 billion commitment. The transformation requires Microsoft's approval and faces legal challenges from Elon Musk and former OpenAI employees. Diversification strategy emerges Microsoft has begun diversifying beyond OpenAI models, reflecting CEO Satya Nadella's belief that leading AI models will become commoditized. The company recently made Musk's xAI model Grok available to cloud customers, signaling reduced dependence on OpenAI technology. The partnership strain extends to computing infrastructure, with former Microsoft executives noting significant friction over OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's demands for faster access to more powerful systems. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now OpenAI has since signed deals with CoreWeave and Oracle for additional capacity, reducing its exclusive reliance on Microsoft's Azure platform. One Microsoft-adjacent source suggested the company views the "status quo" as acceptable, questioning what Microsoft gains by surrendering revenue rights for equity ownership.
