Microsoft Windows vs. Google Android

Computer Store News: If Microsoft Bing Search's efforts to challenge Google search on a global scale, Google has already made its search engine start full of malicious. Then, Google's I/O conference in the operating system field, the whole line of attack, let the Windows system as the core business of Microsoft and Google become a hostile enemy.

We have clearly seen Windows and Chrome OS, Windows Phone and Android, Windows on Devices and Android Wear, Xbox One and Android TV, Windows Embedded Automotive and Android Auto on PC Nearly all of the places where operating systems can run, such as smartphones, tablets, wearables, living room entertainment, cars and even smart homes, have launched a full-scale showdown.

A system to sit in the world

With the terrible consequences of Google’s monopoly on the smartphone market, today it’s really revealed through the ubiquitous Android system. Like Microsoft's use of Windows to monopolize the PC market position to plug the Windows kernel system into all devices, Google is taking full advantage of the huge influence generated by the Android monopoly smartphone market, plugging the Android system into all smart devices, and arriving at these devices simultaneously with the Android system. There are also a large number of device manufacturers and developers who have been spinning around the Android system.

So we saw that the first Android Wear devices Moto 360, Samsung Gear Live, LG G Watch came from the original Android smartphone manufacturers Motorola, Samsung, LG, willing to launch Android TV TV makers such as Sony, Sharp, and Philips are all looking at the face of Andoird's app developers, and dozens of automakers joining the Google Open Auto Alliance are catering to the majority of car consumers who use Android phones. Chromebooks can run the Andoird app, which is the power of borrowing Android apps to help Chrome OS challenge Windows.

Software Services Behind the System

Both technology giants pay so much attention to the full coverage of the operating system, in addition to the direct or indirect benefits of the operating system platform, and the software behind the operating system. The service has a huge relationship. For example, Android Auto's integrated Google Maps service can help Google effectively attack the car navigation market monopolized by Nokia Here, and the Bing search integrated in Windows 8.1 is even more self-evident.

Behind the fully covered Windows operating system, there are a large number of Microsoft such as IE11, Xbox Music, Xbox Video, Xbox Live, Skype, Bing Search, Bing Series Applications, Bing Maps, Outlook, OneDrive, Office, Cortana, etc. Direct or indirect integration of software services; behind the fully covered Andorid operating system, direct or indirect integration of a large number of Google software services such as Chrome browser, Google Maps, Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Now.

So the market share of the operating system indirectly affects the market coverage of a large number of software services under the two companies.

Although Microsoft CEO Satya · Satya Nadella has emphasized that Windows is not the only Microsoft, but the ubiquitous Windows operating system for Microsoft's mobile phone TV computer "three screens and one cloud" "The idea is that for Microsoft software services to occupy everyone's every device's "mobile first, cloud first" strategy is crucial. From the point of view of the importance of the long-term strategy of Microsoft in the Windows operating system, from the attempt of Google to expand the scope of the operating system with the influence of the Android market, the attacking horn of the Google Android Empire means that the Microsoft Windows Empire has met. A huge threat.

How to win the contest?

On the side of the couch, let others sleep well? In order to realize the grand vision of the full occupation of all equipment by their own operating systems, both sides have made a lot of efforts to win the hearts of consumers, equipment manufacturers, developers and other market participants.

Microsoft uses a unified Microsoft account, a unified Metro UI, a unified Windows system kernel, and a Universal Windows Apps universal application, hoping to achieve a consumer experience, a seamless cross-device connection for developers to develop experiences. This layout has been started since the release of Windows Phone in 2010. In 2014, the release of UWA Universal Application achieved phased results, and on Windows 9 released in 2015, Windows will be closely integrated from the bottom of the system to the interactive interface.

Cross-device synchronization of Google accounts (such as Chrome browser) has been doing well, but Android's cross-device unified layout is relatively late. The flat design language Material Desig announced at I/O 2014 unveiled the interactive interface of Android, Chrome OS and Google's website for the first time, and plugged the Android application directly into Chrome OS.

But the flaws in Google's open source system are revealed, and the major Android device manufacturers will make exclusive customizations to the system UI, plus the existence of various application distribution channels, so that the unified application UI will be turned into a bubble. In general, Google Material Design has been difficult to implement, far less than Microsoft's mandatory Metro UI. We also noticed that the Microsoft Windows 8 Metro interface is also quite dissatisfied with the large number of PC users who are used to the traditional desktop. The unified interface between the two parties has a long way to go.

The unified application development experience is also an important part of a seamless cross-device experience and an important means of getting developers. Microsoft uses the Windows NT kernel to unify all operating systems, and uses a set of code + multiple UI/UX to achieve cross-device operation of Windows common applications, which is very beneficial to developers gathering the entire Windows ecosystem. Google directly plugged the Android app into Chrome OS, which will help enhance the appeal of Chrome OS. However, moving applications and games designed specifically for mobile platforms directly to the desktop operating system is just as important as Microsoft's move of Win 32 traditional desktop applications directly into Windows Phone phones. From this perspective, Google also needs to make great efforts to get through the Android ecosystem.

The market situation of each winner and loser

Both parties are planning to do a big job, but the current market situation is far from their respective goals.

Microsoft Windows monopolizes 90% of the desktop operating system market, from the huge number of Windows desktop applications of 4 million, to the poor sales of 2.1 million units of Chromebook in 2013, negligible The market share is enough to prove that Chrome OS is not enough to challenge the Mac in the desktop market, and it is not a competitor of Windows.

Windows Phone's current share is around 3.5%. Microsoft's roadmap leaked earlier suggests that this number will grow to 15% by 2018. Even if Microsoft can achieve this goal, Android is still the absolute leader in the smartphone market. Therefore, as a cooperative action, Microsoft launched the Nokia X series mobile phone based on Android deep customization in the low-end market. In addition to adopting the magnetic interface main interface which is very similar to Metro, it also eliminates the Google software service and replaces it with Microsoft software service. This compromise has largely reached the initial goal of using the operating system to drive its software services.

Similar to the Microsoft Nokia X series, Google Android Auto mapped mobile phone and car interaction system is also a compromise solution that only manages the outer layer and does not. Building an in-vehicle system from 0 is a huge project, so Google Android Auto does not intend to compete directly with the Microsoft Windows Embedded Automotive in-vehicle system, but it has completed the occupation in the user interaction portal and surface application ecology, which is a practical strategy for copying the shortcut.

Microsoft's long-term goal for Xbox One is to capture the living room entertainment market. With the Xbox One's position among gamers, it has entered the living room of thousands of households and uses software such as Kinect and IE. And hardware features, Xbox Originals exclusive TV show continues to expand the entertainment features of the Xbox One. And Android TV is just getting started, and it doesn't show much different features from other set-top box systems. It seems that Xbox One is relatively more promising.

In addition to the desktop and mobile platforms that have established their respective advantages, the competition between the two parties in the field of in-vehicle systems, wearable devices, living room entertainment, smart homes, etc. has just begun, so we are still unable to work on Windows and Android in these areas. The future makes too many pre-judgments, but the contest between the two sides will certainly be very exciting.