According to a recent Bloomberg report, a memo has been circulated within Microsoft’s China branches instructing employees to stop using Android phones and switch to iPhone devices from September 2024.
The move comes as part of Microsoft’s global Secure Future Initiative (SFI), which aims to standardise employee security, and seems to be prompted in large part by concerns that the Google Play Store is not available in mainland China. As a result, Chinese mobile companies like Huawei and Xiaomi - both of which use Android - are forced to utilise their own platforms.
It is these third-party platforms that Microsoft appears to be most concerned about. Their solution? To switch wholesale to Apple’s iOS App Store, which is available throughout the country. The memo goes on to explain that all staff across Microsoft’s China facilities will be provided with an iPhone 15 to facilitate the change.
This is an especially interesting move by the tech giant, given that there have been repeated reports of a ban on iPhone products throughout the halls of government in China - even potentially expanding to the rest of the country.
