In the world of mobile, it’s pretty much a given that the
two big players are Google and Apple, and they have a long history of working
together…though admittedly the relationship is often a bit strained. And it’s
easy to see why things are a bit testy.
First off, Google went and released a competitive mobile
operating system (the nerve!). Later, Apple kicked Google’s Eric Schmidt off
its board. More recently, Apple went and sued a bunch of Android handset manufacturers
for infringement, including HTC, Motorola and Samsung (how dare they?). And feelings
get more hurt every day.
If the epic battle between Apple and Samsung isn’t enough to show that Apple’s not particularly fond of Google and
devices that run on Google’s OS, there’s more.
We already knew that Apple had planned to ditch Google Maps
in favour of its own map service when iOS6 rolls around. But Apple has also
just confirmed that it’s no longer going to offer YouTube as a standard app on
iOS6. Horrors!
Never mind that this was most likely little more than a
decision made because the licensing agreement for YouTube between Google and
Apple was expiring. Never mind that the YouTube app has barely evolved in
years, and that Google will almost certainly release its own third party
YouTube app, which will probably be worlds better. Waggle your fists in the air
threateningly over the principle of
the thing!
In fact, it’s been pointed out by sites like Forbes, this
may actually benefit Google. How? Now the company can now update the YouTube
app itself whenever it wants to (or needs to), as well as monetize ads…so it
hardly seems like a loss. So it’s a pretty safe bet that Google will continue
to produce apps for the iOS platform…though it’s also a pretty safe bet that
the Android versions of the apps will always have a bit of an edge
functionality-wise.
Though Apple hasn’t exactly been embracing Google with open
arms, it is possible to make some of
the bit-filled happiness flow the other way too. If you have an Android device
but you’re still rocking a Mac, you can download Android File Transfer on your
Mac if you’d like to move files to the Android via a USB cable.
So, for example if you’ve bought music from the iTunes store
recently, just drag and drop it into the Music folder on your Nexus 7 using the
Android File Transfer app, and it’ll work in Android’s music app.
(DRM-protected movies or Quicktime files? Not so much. You can’t have
everything.)
So go ahead, let the companies roar and fuss. But in the
end, it’s still possible to extend an olive branch across the aisle every so
often. And in the end, maybe everyone can still be good friends? (Okay, maybe
that’s too much to ask. But we can dream, can’t we?)