Report: Apple wanted to enter the cloud business
To expand its service business, Apple allegedly wanted to rent server space to developers - from Apple Silicon Computers. But the project failed.
iCloud logo: The service is only intended for end customers.
(Image: Apple)
Did Apple want to become a kind of Amazon Web Services (AWS)? At least that's what a new report suggests. The Silicon Valley trade journal The Information reports that the idea of offering rental servers in the cloud was discussed within the iPhone company's service department – until at least mid-2024. However, a key manager who had spoken out in favor of the project is said to have left Apple as early as 2023: Michael Abbott, once Vice President of Cloud Engineering. Among other things, he was responsible for infrastructure services such as iCloud, FaceTime and iMessage.
Offer for developers
Apple's idea for a professional cloud service was apparently to provide developers with a rental infrastructure – based on the company's own servers with efficient M-Chips. The idea was to offer a complete portfolio to handle the hosting side of apps. This would have allowed developers to benefit from Apple's expertise in services such as Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Wallet. Apple is currently trying to get more developers to use its in-house programming language Swift on the server side.
Videos by heise
When Amazon introduced Amazon Web Services 23 years ago, it took a very similar approach to what Apple is now apparently planning: it opened up its infrastructure to third parties. Google Cloud works similarly. Apple could have (significantly) increased its sales in the services sector with a cloud computing service.
Discussions not yet over
Apple operates a mixture of its cloud infrastructure and purchased servers, including AWS and Google Cloud. The systems were further expanded for its Apple Intelligence AI system, including with the Private Cloud Compute (PCC) service, which outsources AI queries to servers in a data protection-friendly manner. Here too, the company uses Apple Silicon servers, partly in the form of Mac Studios.
The idea of having its cloud service provider does not seem to have been completely buried. According to The Information, it is unclear whether the talks have actually ended internally or could be resumed. The target group was clearly the company's own developers, so Apple would probably not have become a pure hoster.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
