Is Microsoft Integrating Other OS Apps?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) recently announced at its Build developer conference that Windows would support applications for other operating systems.

The company will support apps developed for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS and Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Android, according to a report from Peter Bright at Ars Technica.

Supporting applications developed for Apple’s and Google’s operating systems could carry risks to Microsoft, Bright suggested, as such an approach had been attempted by International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ: BBRY) in the past with little to no success.

“This capability cedes a lot of control. By being dependent on apps developed for a third-party platform, you give the owner of that third-party platform the power to choose how to evolve its APIs and add new features,” Bright noted.

Additionally, Android has difficulty pushing out updates to different phones while Apple is able to aggressively update iOS.

“This means an Android-compatible platform could trail Google's cutting edge by a year or more and still be highly compatible with Android apps,” while a “platform striving for compatibility with iOS will have to aggressively keep pace with Apple's developments,” Bright wrote.

When rumors of Android compatibility surfaced in 2014, it “seemed like Microsoft was simply preparing to make the same mistakes others had made before, one last-ditch effort to prop up its phone platform."

"Running a competitor's apps has been done before. It hasn't worked," Bright concluded.

Microsoft recently traded at $47.69, down 0.12 percent.