Tech Desk 
Jul 09, 2024
Microsoft China has instructed its employees to shift from their Android devices to iPhones by September of this year.
The instruction was handed out via an internal memo delivered to all company employees, Bloomberg reports that the same has been issued at the company’s Hong Komg’s office.
For those who, for reasons unknown are unable to or do not make the switch, the company will provide an iPhone 15 of its own accord at dedicated points in its facility.
Notably, this ban extends to Chinese-branded smartphones like Xiaomi and Huawei as well.
Read More: Xiaomi 15 Series leaks: Unveiling rumours of 120Hz displays, Wi-Fi 7 support
Consumers in Mainland China have to rely on app stores offered by Huawei and Xiaomi to circumvent the absence of Google’s Play Store, except Hong Kong of course.
For this reason, the company has decided to bring uniformity to its workforce and make it easier to identify employees when they log into their work computers.
The US company will soon require Chinese-based employees to use only Apple devices to verify their identities when logging in to work computers or phones.
Since the App Store is available in China, employees will be able to authenticate their presence using the Microsoft Authenticator password manager and Identity Pass app.
This also comes under the backdrop of heightened cybersecurity concerns, as last year the company revealed that it was targeted as part of a reconnaissance mission by a Russian state-sponsored hacker group called Midnight Blizzard.
