20 years ago someone predicted that the iPod would end up being irrelevant to the arrival of smartphones: it was Bill Gates

When it comes to technological innovation, the real triumph It is not to get a supervent productbut be able to advance what will be the one that will be sold the most One and even two decades later. That talent is the one that has made many founders of large technology today are among the Greater fortunes in the world.

In May 2005, with the iPod selling as churros and revolutionizing the way of listening to music, Bill Gates Auguró In an interview to a German medium that, a few years later, The iPod was going to be irrelevant.

Although for those years, many interpreted His words like agoreras And the result of Microsoft’s inability to deal with the success of the iPod, Gates gave in the nail. The launch of the iPhone in 2007 and the arrival of the smartphones meant the First nail in your coffin.

Bill Gates saw him come. Microsoft let him escape

In your interview for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The technological millionaire refined his crystal ball from the technological sector. Two years before the launch of the first smartphone as we know it today, predict what the mobile Two decades later.

“The mobile phones market is strategically fundamental. More and more functions will be integrated into a single device, and this requires software solutions. The perspective of having all relevant functions in a single device will be irresistible for consumers,” Gates said in 2005.

With that statement, Microsoft’s founding millionaire gave in the nail with What was going to happen in the next decade with the development of the smartphones industry.

However, in addition to seeing them coming, companies must be able to position in the right place for Take advantage of those predictions And that, with Steve Ballmer already in front of the company doubting success From the business model that the iPhone anticipated, it was the great pending subject for Microsoft.

Despite the Windows Phone effortsthe huge mobile software market that Gates predicted was going to stay In Google’s hands and Apple with their respective operating systems, while Microsoft was relegated to a Minority market share with an operating system that did not convince.

Ipod fall predicted, not the success of the iPhone

“I do not believe that the success of the iPod can be sustained in the long term, however good Apple is. I think you can establish parallels with computers: here also Apple used to be extremely strong with its Macintosh and its graphical user interface (similar to the current iPod) and then lost their position. Consumers want more options and get them because there is a lot of innovation in this area,” Gates said in 2005.

Again, he accounted for 100% in what consumers would require mobile devices in the next decade, and the iPod was going to fall short. However, again, and despite the adequate forecast of the millionaire, Microsoft He could not find his space neither Take advantage of your strengths.

Instead, Apple not only responded to demands from your customers integrating the functions of the iPod into the iPhone for make it more versatilebut took advantage of the app store to Expand your functions opening a door to millions of applications. In this way, it was Apple who took advantage of the premise that, very rightly, had announced Bill Gates.

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Image | Flickr (World Bank Photo Collection), Xataka