The US tech giants Apple and Microsoft have introduced numerous innovative services over the past decades. While some services still support users in their everyday lives, others have already been discontinued.
• With Windows Phone, Microsoft wanted to establish itself in the smartphone market
• iTunes has been replaced by separate applications
• Wikipedia is overtaking Microsoft’s encyclopedia
Focus on successful services and products
In the fast-paced world of technology, discontinuing services and products is a natural part of business evolution. Both Apple and Microsoft have learned over the years to adapt to the changing needs of consumers and focus on services and products that promise greater success. Some services and products made a significant contribution to the company’s success at the time, while others were never able to meet the expectations placed on them.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone
The Windows Phone operating system was Microsoft’s attempt to gain a foothold in the smartphone market and compete against rivals such as Android and iOS to compete. Although Windows Phone offered some innovative features and a user-friendly interface, it never achieved a significant market presence. The limited number of apps in the Windows Store was one of the main problems the platform struggled with. In 2017, Microsoft announced that it was stopping development of Windows Phone and would instead focus on developing apps and services for Android and iOS.
Apple’s iTunes
iTunes was a pioneering music management program and online music store developed by Apple. Launched in 2001, it allowed users to purchase, organize, and play music, movies, TV shows, and more. iTunes was one of the main applications on Mac and Windows computers until Apple replaced iTunes with separate apps such as Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Podcasts in 2019.
Microsoft Encarta
Encarta was a popular encyclopedia software released by Microsoft. It contained extensive information in the form of articles, multimedia and interactive learning tools. However, with the advent of the Internet and online encyclopedias like Wikipedia, Encarta became less important, as the New York Times reports. Microsoft discontinued the Encarta product line in 2009.
Apple’s ping
Ping was a social network for music lovers launched by Apple in 2010 as part of iTunes. It should allow users to share music, follow artists and discover concerts. Unfortunately, Ping struggled with low user acceptance and interest. User numbers were stagnating and it was difficult to get users to actively participate on the platform, CNN reports. Ultimately, Ping was discontinued in 2012 and Apple focused on other services such as Apple Music and integrating social features into other products, CNN further reports.
Microsoft’s Groove Music
Groove Music, formerly known as Xbox Music and Zune Music, was a music streaming service owned by Microsoft. The service launched in 2012 and was intended to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. Despite some efforts to improve the service and integrate it with Microsoft products such as Windows 10, Groove Music failed to attract enough users to be profitable. In 2017, Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Groove Music and instead partnered with Spotify to provide a seamless transition for its users.
Apple’s iAd
The advertising service iAd, introduced by Apple, allowed developers to display ads in their iOS apps. Launched in 2010, it was intended to provide app developers with a way to make money by displaying ads in their applications. Although the idea was promising, iAd faced some challenges. The ads were expensive and the platform wasn’t as flexible for advertisers as other ad networks, Macworld reports. In 2016, Apple finally announced the discontinuation of iAd.
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