Microsoft China bans Android, demands staff use iPhones

Microsoft’s R&D facility in China (Source: Microsoft)

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.

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.

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.