On the surface, an open banking framework in the US like the one proposed for the UK appears beneficial to today’s API providers. If such a framework was widely adopted, API providers would see overhead cost reductions and product improvement, as they would no longer need to support the multitude of proprietary banking system that exist today. Additionally, because US financial institutions would no longer need to support multiple APIs, an open framework would de-risk the possibility for API providers that their product does not become the industry standard. However, this de-risking is a double-edged sword and creates strategic problems for today’s providers.
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TL/DR — Apple’s success is predicated on platform while Google’s is predicated on services. Where Apple builds services for its platform, Google builds platforms for its services. Any Apple service that provides stickiness to iOS, like iMessage, will never be available cross platform because it would represent a trade of valuable iOS platform users for less valuable service users. Despite the changing focuses of both Apple and Google over the next decade, these underlying platform/service truths will hold constant.
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Apple’s struggle to provide big-data services like the AIs recently presented by Google and Facebook have led to concerns that Apple could be destined for a similar fate to BlackBerry maker RIM. In this post, I wanted to present an alternative version of how the next iteration of the web might unfold. Apple definitely has a plan. Apple’s focus on privacy and ad-blocking is its attempt to transition value from the web towards its own iOS platform by undercutting the feasibility of targeted advertising. The value of Facebook and Google is predicated on the value of their underlying data. If Apple can devalue that data, then it can potentially turn the entire industry on its head. If Facebook and Google’s bet on AI is considered a “big if”, then Apple’s bet that it can devalue the web should be considered a titanic if. The most probable outcome is assuredly somewhere in the middle, but it’s always fun to play devil’s advocate.
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