Apple, Google and Microsoft: who copies whom?

As is always the case with any new release of an operating system, whatever it may be, accusations of having copied features of the competition run around the net. The announcement of the new Windows 10 for smartphones and tablets is the latest case, and accusations of having "borrowed" features from iOS have flooded specialized blogs, like ours, with our article on what's new in Windows 10 that Microsoft has copied from Apple. But is Apple always the loser or is copying things from the competition something that not even in Cupertino they get rid of? The reality is that everyone copies from everyone, as we can easily show if we look back a bit.

The origin of everything

The beginning of smartphones as we know them today occurred in 2007 with the introduction of the first iPhone. It is true that Android had been working on an operating system for mobile devices for some time, but it had many more similarities with any Blackberry than with an iPhone (or with the Android we know today). It is not necessary to remember the supposed words of Steve Jobs (according to his biography) in which he "swore" that he would get rid of Android for having copied his beloved iPhone. Multi-touch gestures like two-finger zoom, or the full on-screen keyboard and a single physical button were the most differentiating features that made this first iPhone a reference for other manufacturers.

Android 1.5 Cupcake incorporates the on-screen keyboard

Although it may be difficult to believe, the first versions of Google's operating system did not even have an on-screen keyboard. Until April 30, 2009, the date on which version 1.5 Cupcake was released, Android terminal users could not write using the terminal screen, yes, with a productive keyboard that Apple would be slow to arrive.

Android 2.0 Eclair and lock screen

Android version 2.0 was a major change in the aesthetics of the device and many functions. One of the most controversial and for which Apple flew into a rage was the new "Slide to unlock" option, already present in iOS and copied for this new version of Android, although obviously with the personal touch of Google, with that arched shape of the bar.

iOS 5 and the "new" Notification Center

One of the great novelties of iOS 5 was the new way of managing notifications, making them much less intrusive, and grouping them in the Notification Center, a screen that was accessed by sliding from the top of the screen downwards. These functions were already more than familiar to Android users that from the beginning they had their own screen for notifications, which also included the buttons to activate WiFi, Bluetooth, etc., something that would not reach iOS until version 7 with the Control Center, separate from the Notification Center but with a very aesthetic similar to that of its rival.

Ice Cream Sandwich borrowed several things from others

Ice Cream Sandwich, version 4.0 of Android, came with many new features that already existed on other platforms. On the one hand, it added the possibility of creating folders dragging one icon on top of another, something already present in iOS. It also borrowed from the Apple platform the ability to modify the icons in the "favorites tray" by turning that bottom row of icons into something very similar to the iOS Dock. Multitasking has been aesthetically tweaked, with windows where you can preview open apps, a copy of WebOS multitasking, and something Apple would later copy for iOS.

iOS 7, the great change of Apple with external inspiration

iOS 7 was a real revolution in Apple's operating system. A much more modern, simple interface, far from the skeumorphism that had characterized the platform for years. In addition to the aesthetic changes, there were many functional novelties, but the reality is that Apple was inspired (and not little) by other platforms. The similarities of the minimalist and "flat" aesthetic of iOS 7 and Windows Phone are obvious. Multitasking, as we said before, is a copy of WebOS (which Android and Windows Phone will also copy). Direct access to the functions of Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. of the Control Center irremediably resemble those of Android, although in this case they are integrated into the Notification Center. Also the way to present the tabs of Safari is a copy of those of Chrome, the Google browser.

iOS 8 and its new services

iOS 8 has been a great advance in Apple's operating system in terms of its openness to third-party applications. The widgets, characteristic of Android since its inception, although in Apple restricted to the Notification Center, the possibility of adding third-party keyboards, or the possibility of sharing content between applications are just some examples of iOS novelties that have already existed on Android for a long time. weather.

But iOS 8 has meant Apple introducing new features (really), and those that are yet to come (with the Apple Watch, for example). To the announcement of CarPlay by Apple, Google was quick to respond with Google Android Auto, two services practically traced and that will be the way we use our mobiles in our cars in the very near future. The same has happened with Health Kit, a function with which Apple encompasses all functions related to health and exercise in iOS, and to which third-party applications and accessories will be able to access. Google's response was shortly after Google Fit, practically identical.

And this does not end here…

There are still many "exclusive" features of each platform that your competitors will undoubtedly copy. Continuity and Handoff of iOS and OS X, or the merger of Windows 10 as the only common operating system for mobile devices and computers are some of them. It really wouldn't make sense if it weren't. Each platform wants to offer its users the best, and for this it must look at what is successful in the competition. The beneficiaries, as always, the users.