> Microsoft also allowed various carrier changes to Windows Phones but they could still offer upgrades across devices. ... Microsoft has had a vibrant ecosystem of third parties selling PCs running its OS for decades.
And for all that, they still failed to make a dent in the market. Partly, OEMs and carriers were not as interested in supporting Microsoft's offering precisely because of how they could not put their own stamp on it. In many ways, Microsoft's offering was better on the fundamentals than Android's. So why didn't it succeed? Perhaps because of the very features you are praising.
The only reason Apple was even able to pull it off was because of their first mover advantage, combined with their extreme consumer appeal. Their phones were so much better than anything that was available at the time, but even with all that, they had to enter into an exclusive contract with AT&T for the first couple of years in order to get the control they wanted. Only after they had established a foothold were they able to say "no" to carrier and OEM customization. If they had been second to market, like Android, it's hard to picture them having that level of control and leverage.
It's honestly surprising that people still continue to insist that anyone but Google is responsible for the current state of affairs. It's completely because of Google's business incentives. Google's pivot, from a Blackberry clone to an iPhone clone, was about quickly obtaining market share. That meant ceding control to OEMs and carriers so they could effectively market devices against the iPhone.
Microsoft didn't lose because of those things (it shows how much better they are at being a platform company that they didn't repeat Google's mistakes), they lost solely because Android was free to OEMs. That's entirely a business model question.
And for all that, they still failed to make a dent in the market. Partly, OEMs and carriers were not as interested in supporting Microsoft's offering precisely because of how they could not put their own stamp on it. In many ways, Microsoft's offering was better on the fundamentals than Android's. So why didn't it succeed? Perhaps because of the very features you are praising.
The only reason Apple was even able to pull it off was because of their first mover advantage, combined with their extreme consumer appeal. Their phones were so much better than anything that was available at the time, but even with all that, they had to enter into an exclusive contract with AT&T for the first couple of years in order to get the control they wanted. Only after they had established a foothold were they able to say "no" to carrier and OEM customization. If they had been second to market, like Android, it's hard to picture them having that level of control and leverage.