During a recent interview on the invite-only audio conversation app Clubhouse, Bill Gates revealed why he still prefers to use an Android phone over the iPhone. What it boils down to, Gates explained, is that Android manufacturers are “more flexible” with software integration.
As our colleagues over at 9to5Google reported, Gates joined Andrew Ross Sorkin for an interview in the Clubhouse app this week. Clubhouse, which is gaining quickly in popularity, is currently an iPhone-only app, but an Android version is on the way.
Gates has talked about his use of Android in the past, so Sorkin was curious if his preference might have changed, given that he was speaking through a service that’s only available on iOS.
In response, the Microsoft founder explained that he still prefers an Android, but that he keeps an iPhone around to try out — and apparently for joining Clubhouse rooms. Gates’ reasoning for using Android is because manufacturers often pre-install Microsoft software:
The reasoning here is a bit odd because you can download Microsoft apps from the App Store on iPhone, and even now adjust your default browser and email apps with iOS 14, so it’s not clear what Gates is referring to.
I actually use an Android phone. Because I want to keep track of everything, I’ll often play around with iPhones, but the one I carry around happens to be Android. Some of the Android manufacturers pre-install Microsoft software in a way that makes it easy for me. They’re more flexible about how the software connects up with the operating system. So that’s what I ended up getting used to. You know, a lot of my friends have iPhone, so there’s no purity.
Read more:
- Clubhouse for Android is the ‘top feature’ in development, cofounder confirms
- Clubhouse reaches 8 million downloads on the iOS App Store
- Facebook rumored to be working on Clubhouse competitor, Twitter expands Spaces beta
