Rich Miner, one of the co-founders of Android, has taken a jab at Bill Gates for Microsoft’s failure to dominate the mobile market, blaming the tech giant’s $400 billion loss in potential market value on decisions made by Gates himself.
Miner, who played a direct role in the creation of Android, responded sharply to Gates’ recent admission that Microsoft’s inability to secure a foothold in the mobile sector was one of the company’s biggest mistakes.
Miner, who has been deeply involved in the mobile ecosystem, said he helped create Android as a direct response to Microsoft’s monopoly-like control over personal computers. In a post on X, Miner shared his perspective, saying, “I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC—stifling innovation.” He added, “Sorry Bill, you’re more responsible for losing the $400B than you realize.”
I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC – stifling innovation. So it's always funny for me to hear Gates whine about losing mobile to Android 🤣
Retweet if you think I should share our original pitch deck
1/2 pic.twitter.com/urjZWK0yHE— Rich Miner (@richminer) January 14, 2025
Bill Gates Regret, ‘Company’s Biggest Mistake was…’
In an interview with Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz, Gates revealed that Microsoft’s failure to dominate the mobile market cost the company around $400 billion in lost market value. Instead, Google’s Android platform, which came out in 2008 one year after Apple’s iPhone shook the smartphone industry, took up the lion’s share of the market.
Bill Gates recently confessed that one of the biggest mistakes of Microsoft’s past was the inability of the company to become the dominant mobile platform. Gates confessed that the missed chance for Microsoft to dominate the mobile market was the biggest mistake as it lost its share not only in the market but also an estimated value of $400 billion. Reflects Gates, “The biggest mistake in history is the way I did it that makes Microsoft not turn out to be what Android was.”
At the core of this debacle was the company’s late move into the arena. Even though Apple’s iPhone was released in 2007, and Android in 2008, Microsoft released its Windows Phone 7 only in 2010. That was by the time Apple and Android had taken the major market share. The delay from the initial release was also Microsoft’s inability to provide an open, customizable platform like Android and iOS, which made it highly impossible for developers and users to go to Windows.
The SPV and Windows Mobile: A Missed Opportunity
Miner also shared a personal experience involving Microsoft’s approach towards the mobile market by pointing at his involvement during the launch of the first Windows Mobile phone in 2002: the SPV. He explained how he then felt worried, being concerned by the possibility of Microsoft using a similar dominating strategy to control the mobile market which had dominated it. He feared that such monopolistic practice may stifle the competition and hamper innovation and this concern has been visibly depicted in his further work with Android.
Microsoft’s approach to the mobile market contrasts sharply with the strategies adopted by both Apple and Google. While iOS and Android focused on providing developers with more freedom to customize and create innovative apps, Microsoft maintained a rigid and closed approach, relying on its traditional software model. Microsoft’s focus on controlling the entire ecosystem limited its ability to attract developers and ultimately led to its downfall in the mobile space.
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