Re: [NEWS] Microsoft China baning staff from using Android phones

Your Name wrote:

>
  Microsoft China bans Android, demands staff use iPhones
  -------------------------------------------------------
  As part of an overall security drive, Microsoft in China has
  told staff they will all be required to switch to iPhone.
>
  As China's government has variously been said to be banning
  iPhones, and not exactly banning iPhones, now Microsoft is
  definitely doing the opposite in the country. According to a
  Microsoft memo seen by Bloomberg, all staff in China must
  switch to iPhone from September 2024.
>
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-08/microsoft-orders-china-staff-to-switch-from-android-phones-to-iphones-for-work>
>
  The memo says that staff using Android smartphones, including
  China's own Huawei or Xiaomi, will be provided with an
  iPhone 15. Microsoft is reportedly setting up collection
  points for iPhones across its facilities in China.
>
  Significantly, it's also doing this in Hong Kong. One of the
  issues prompting the switch concerns how the Google Play Store
  is not available in mainland China, but it is in Hong Kong.
>
  Android owners on the China mainland have instead had to use
  app platforms run by Huawei or Xiaomi. Microsoft has now
  blocked access to those sites.
>
  As Apple's iOS App Store is available in China, the intention
  is that all staff switching to iPhones will be able to use the
  Microsoft Authenticator password manager, plus its Identity
  Pass app.
>
  Microsoft does not disclose how many employees it has in China.
  But it has operated in the country since 1992, and says that
  its "most complete subsidiary and largest R&D center outside
  the United States is in China." That research center alone
  employs over 6,000 engineers and scientists.
>
  In May 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that it had asked
  around 800 local employees to consider relocating to other
  countries, including the US.
>
  Neither Microsoft nor Apple have commented publicly on the move.
>
  Separately, in May 2024, Microsoft added support for passkeys.
  Rather than passwords and regular authentication, passkeys mean
  an app can use the iPhone's Face ID for biometric authentication.
>
>
>
<https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/07/08/microsoft-china-bans-android-demands-staff-use-iphones>

This was the policy at where I work too.  It's only been in the past
few years where they've allowed Android phones to be issued to
employees for network and email access.  Even then there are certain
things Androids can't do which iPhones can.  This is how I became an
iPhone user -- I was already used to it so when it came time to get my
personal phone, I opted for iPhone.  If it wasn't for MDM and ability
to spy on my work phone, I wouldn't need a personal phone.