Apple's preloaded iPhone and iPad software may no longer be confined to its mobile operating system, with CEO Tim Cook hinting that more apps could leap from iOS 9 to Android.
This has happened once so far with Apple Music in late 2015. It was a way to test the waters for porting over additional services to other platforms, said Cook at a Town Hall meeting, according to 9to5Mac.
Right now, Google has 62 apps available within Apple's App Store. It hasn't held back. Apple technically has three: Apple Music, the Move to iOS transfer tool and Beats Pill+.
By further opening up its software, Apple could begin to make more money from services and not just hardware like iPhone 6S. After all, its golden goose is slipping in year-over-year profit increases.
Maybe not every app
Cook didn't specify which Apple apps and services could one day make their way to Android, but there are several key suspects that Android switcher would like to see.
Apple is heavily investing in iCloud as a way to sync and share photos, documents and contacts, and it has paid tiers for more storage space. The company also makes money off of Apple Pay transactions.
iMessages on Android would also be a welcome addition to Google-powered phones. It's annoying to be using a Nexus 6P or LG G4, and get cut out of group messages.
But Apple's text messaging replacement app is actually one of the reasons the iPhone is so hard to break away from. Apple's closed ecosystem actually works in its favor here.
There may be limitations the apps Apple ends up bringing to Android, and it may come down to which software is poised to make it money via subscription services.
All of this makes sense. Apple seems to be hunting for new sources of revenue, with rumors of Apple VR, an Apple Car and a redesigned iPhone 7 and iPhone 5SE in its pipeline.
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