In 2019, Gates admitted(Opens in a new window) the way he handled Microsoft's own mobile phone division was his "greatest mistake." Microsoft ended up letting Google transform Android into the only true rival for iPhone. Microsoft missed out on a $400 billion market at the time, something Gates deeply regrets. In 2017, however, he went ahead and adopted an Android phone.
Bill Gates Uses Android Phone Instead Of Microsoft Phone
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has been open about using Android phones as his main and only phone. He has always praised the Android ecosystem and stayed away from the walled garden of Apple's iOS ecosystem. But in a world where most high-end phones are folding into half, it is often interesting to learn what the world's most influential people are using at the moment. And hence, one user went ahead and asked Bill Gates what is the current phone he used. Remember, Gates in the past has rarely revealed the phone he uses.
And what does Gates reply? He uses a foldable smartphone, which was as expected. However, what is surprising is that Gates does not use any foldable smartphone that Microsoft makes! Not at all. Instead, his choice of a folding smartphone is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, which is currently the most widely available and premier folding smartphone in the world. And he has his reasons for using Samsung's premier foldable smartphone.
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft has recently revealed the smartphone that he uses. Surprisingly, Gates does not use a top-of-the-line iPhone, nor Microsoft foldable device called Surface Duo. Tech enthusiasts around the world are always eager to know what smartphone technology leaders like Gates own. Keep reading to know more about the exact smartphone that Gates uses and its specifications.
During the Reddit Ask Me Anything session conducted last week, Gates revealed that he uses a foldable smartphone, not from Microsoft, but from the South Korean tech giant, Samsung. Gates uses a Samsung Galaxy Fold 3, a foldable smartphone launched by the company in 2021. He also talks about his choice, saying, "With this screen, I can get by with a great portable PC and the phone and nothing else."
Bill Gates has mentioned previously that he uses an Android smartphone but he never revealed the exact device. This was the first time when he openly stated which smartphone he uses. Over the last few years, foldable smartphones have emerged as a viable alternative to mainstream, single-hand smartphones. While Samsung is dominating the market with its Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, other companies like Xiaomi are also trying to catch up.
By Abhik Sengupta: Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates recently conducted an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit and revealed that his daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, which was given to him by Jay Y. Lee, the chairperson of Samsung, when he visited South Korea. Gates has chosen Samsung's foldable instead of the Microsoft Surface Duo for a while. In a previous AMA session, he had revealed that his last daily smartphone was the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
In the latest Reddit post, Gates revealed he uses Outlook and a lot of "Microsoft software" on the smartphone. Samsung and Satya Nadella-led Microsoft have been closely working together on upcoming mobile software. Notably, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 was the first phone to ship with Google's Android 12L - the custom Android OS for tablets and foldable. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 also ship with Microsoft Office apps specially customised for the smartphone. Gates claims he does not use a tablet and the Galaxy Z Fold 4's screen size is ideal for daily work.
Gates said in an interview that he actually uses an Android phone. Still, to keep track of everything, he prefers having the iPhone around him, but usually, he carries around Android phones.
Windows smartphones were a thing of the past and have been wiped out from the market due to strong competition from Android and Apple. In a recent interaction with Fox News, Gates revealed that he recently switched to an Android device and still uses Windows-based PCs.
Gates also added that even though he uses an Android device, he mostly used Microsoft software on the Android phone. Microsoft makes or owns a range of software such as Skype, Word, Outlook email and others that work well on Android devices. The Android OS is very much similar to the Microsoft ethos, i.e, you can customise a lot of features on your smartphone, download applications and manage files directly on your device and it is also a platform that is widely supported by many companies.
Taking a cue for the Windows operating system, Gates may be a fan of the Google software simply because it does not lock you into an ecosystem. Makers and builders like Gates do not like restrictions and which is why Android is popular amongst hardcore tech users. Android is an operating system that is open to all and knows what is inside a smartphone. Before Gates became a billionaire, he was a hacker who managed to break into a computer of a major corporation 45 years ago. Of course, it is safe to assume that Gates uses Android smartphones because of similar reasons as stated above.
Bill Gates envisions an alternate reality where, instead of Google's Android being the most popular, widely-used smartphone operating system in the world, a version of Windows for smartphones is on top.
Former Microsoft CEO, co-founder and business magnate Bill Gates has said he uses a flagship Samsung smartphone instead of the Microsoft Surface Duo. During a recently conducted Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, Gates revealed that his daily driver is a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 flagship smartphone.
It should be noted that Gates has been using Samsung's foldable phone instead of the Microsoft Surface Duo for a while. Moreover, Gates mentioned he upgraded from the Galaxy Z Fold 3 to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, thus, indicating that this is not the first time he has chosen to use a Samsung foldable as his daily driver.googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-6601185-5"); );
Besides the foldable smartphone, Gates relies on a Windows desktop PC and Windows laptop for his day-to-day tasks, the media has reported. The former Microsoft CEO also shared that even though he uses a Samsung smartphone, a chunk of his time is spent using Microsoft software on it.
Gates added that he uses "Outlook and a lot of Microsoft software" on his phone and that he doesn't use a tablet because of the size of the screen, instead relying on "simply the phone and my portable PC - a Windows machine."
When asked why he uses an Android, Gates explained that he just wants "to keep track of everything." This was during a 2021 Clubhouse interview. He claims to "frequently play around with iPhones," but ultimately relies on his Android phone out of habit.
Given that the Microsoft and Samsung partnership is still in place, it appears that the former CEO of Microsoft has no issues using the new Galaxy foldable. Samsung automatically integrates a few apps from the giant Redmond company. On this device, according to Gates, he uses Outlook and other Microsoft apps. He adds that because of the size of the screen. He only uses his phone and a Windows laptop instead of a tablet.
The 61-year-old tech pioneer, who is worth an estimated $90 billion, doesn't use an iPhone either, not even as a second handset. Instead, Gates says he uses an Android smartphone, having recently switched from Windows Phone.
In 2019, Gates admitted the way he handled Microsoft's own mobile phone division was his "greatest mistake." Microsoft ended up letting Google transform Android into the only true rival for iPhone. Microsoft missed out on a $400 billion market at the time, something Gates deeply regrets.
Android also isn't dominating phones in commercial respects. Last year, Android's largest licensee Samsung generated $8.8 billion USD in profits on sales of $87 billion from its IM Mobile business, mostly phones but also tablets, ChromeOS netbooks, and Windows PCs. China's leading vendor Huawei also generated $8.8 billion USD in total profits from sales of $107.4 billion, a little less than half of which was from its mostly-phones consumer segment. Google's own Pixel phone sales are negligible. 2ff7e9595c
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