Ex-Windows chief seems blown away by iPhone 15

What’s in a connector? Quite a lot when it comes to iPhone 15 and USB-C, which has picked up huge praise from former president of Microsoft’s Windows division, Steven Sinofsky.

“Here’s my iPhone 15 connected to a USB 3.2 hub (generic Amazon) connected to: HDMI 4k output, GB Ethernet, SD card, USB memory stick, Apple keyboard (over USB), and a 20 watt power supply,” he shared. “I can’t stand how wild this is.”

How wild is that?

The former Windows chief, at the company for 23-years, observed that while iPad Pro already did all this, this was a first for iPhones. He also noted that innovation can be gradual in an earlier sequence of tweets where he pointed out:

1. So much of the evolution of technology can be summed up by “what’s new, was already done before…but being first (or early) if often no different in result than being wrong.”
2. Being done before is never the same as new things, which usually have a different perspective – many inventions fail and need to be reprised.

“Why say this?,” he added.

“It makes me respect more the patience Apple exhibits in not jumping on new technologies right away. They respect how long it takes to mature and think through the implementation. Yes, it means a new tech is useless and doesn’t exist…until it does.”

Inevitable innovation

Some may recall that Sinofsky also made waves when he praised the “unprecedented execution” Apple’s teams showed when the company made the transition to Apple Silicon processors in Macs. Prior to that transition, he had made the transition to using iPads for all his main computing work.

At that time he praised Apple’s:

• Fearless multi-year strategy
• Clear unified planning/prioritization
• Wildly unprecedented execution

Clearly, nothing much has changed.

The future’s wearing shades

With the exception that most industry commentators now see the future as being more Mac and Apple shaped than ever before.

“…In 10 years’ time, Windows will not be the dominant ecosystem; … Apple is coming up because it already dominates the mobile enterprise,” then Jamf CEO, Dean Hager told Computerworld.

In a more recent post relating to the EU decision to erode the user experience of Apple products, Sinofsky also said: “After USB-C win, EU tells Tim Cook that Apple must ‘open up its gates to competitors’ … regulators never want just one bite from the Apple. Capitulation is never a strategy if you think it ends regulatory meddling in product design and innovation.”

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