Zoom’s success during the pandemic may also have shown Apple the revenue potential of an open and overhauled FaceTime, Forte added.Īpple unveils iOS 15 with new features for post-pandemic lifeīeyond that, the move could be designed to help with Apple’s antitrust woes. “Apple seems to be more willing than it has been historically to open up some of its services outside of its ecosystem as a way to drive adoption, and also as a way to compete more effectively against other large scale tech players such as Facebook and Google,” said Tom Forte, senior research analyst at DA Davidson. But the FaceTime decision appears to be an acknowledgment by Apple that there are competitive benefits to letting non-Apple customers use its software products, according to industry analysts. Part of Apple’s appeal has long been exclusivity - you have to buy the company’s gadgets to get access to its high quality software, and vice versa.

The move to allow non-Apple customers access to one of its apps is unusual for the iPhone maker, leaving some to wonder whether access to other popular Apple software products might be expanded, too. The announcement about FaceTime was among a slew of other software updates introduced for the iPhone, iPad and other Apple (AAPL) said users of other operating systems will be able to join FaceTime calls when invited via a link sent by an Apple

One of the most surprising announcements from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday wasn’t a new feature for its own customers - it was something new for Android and Windows users.Īs part of its unveiling of iOS 15, Apple

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