Apple cracks open the gate to their famous walled garden

“In a series of uncharacteristic partnerships with tech rivals, Apple has shown its willingness to rethink how its tightly-controlled ecosystem of software and services can expand beyond the iPhone,” Steve Kovach writes for CNBC. “pple’s first major partnership announcement came in November, when Amazon said it would bring Apple Music to Echo devices and let users control playback using Alexa, a competitor to Siri.”
“At CES in Las Vegas… TV makers like Sony and Vizio announced new models that work with Apple’s AirPlay 2 technology, which lets you beam video from your iPhone or iPad to a TV,” Kovach writes. “The TVs are also compatible with HomeKit, Apple’s system for controlling smart home devices like connected light bulbs and power outlets. Until now, these features have mostly been restricted to Apple TV.”
“The big one came from Samsung, one of Apple’s major rivals. The Korean gadget maker announced at CES on Sunday that it would bring a new iTunes app to some models of Samsung TVs, meaning you’ll be able to log into your Apple account on your Samsung TV and stream movies and TV shows from your iTunes library,” Kovach writes. “Amazon’s Alexa can now control Apple Music, and Samsung has convinced Apple to write an iTunes TV app based on Samsung’s Tizen operating system. Those new Sony TVs run on Android, meaning you’ll be able to use Siri to control Google software. This is just the beginning. It’s not a stretch to imagine the partnerships announced over the last month will extend to other platforms too, like Google Home speakers, Roku boxes and Amazon’s FireTV.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Reaching beyond the installed base is smart not only for growing services, but also for giving the hoi polloi a fleeting glimpse of the garden and the tempting fruit (intuitive UIs, iMessage, privacy, security, high quality original content, etc.) that thrives inside its protective walls.
A little sip of ice water here and there can go a long way towards coaxing the sufferers out of their self-imposed hell.
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Apple is changing its attitude about working with partners