Microsoft to offer Apple devices to employees in China, citing lack of Android services

(Reuters) – Microsoft plans to offer Apple’s iOS-based devices to its employees in China to access authentication apps, a company spokesman said on Monday, citing the absence of Google’s Android services in the country.

Microsoft has come under increased scrutiny following a series of security breaches, the latest of which was when Russian hackers spied on and accessed the emails of the company’s employees and customers earlier this year.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg News, which, citing an internal memo, said the Windows operating system maker had asked its employees in China to use Apple devices at work starting in September.

As part of Microsoft’s global Secure Future initiative, the decision to move to iOS devices stems from the lack of availability of the Google Play Store in China, which limits its employees’ access to security apps such as Microsoft Authenticator and Identity Pass, the report added.

“Due to the lack of availability of Google mobile services in this region, we are looking to provide employees with a way to access these required applications, such as an iOS device,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an email.

Microsoft is one of the American companies with a strong presence in China. It entered the Chinese market in 1992 and also operates a major research and development center there.

The company will provide iPhone 15 models to employees, who currently use Android phones across China, including Hong Kong, according to the Bloomberg report.

(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bangalore; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)