When & Why Former Microsoft CEO Once Laughed At Apple's iPhone

Once upon a time, a former Microsoft CEO thought that Steve Jobs' Apple was making a big mistake by launching a device called the iPhone. Well, little did he know that the iPhone would go on to become a mega success for Apple.

Which Microsoft CEO Laughed At The iPhone?

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After Bill Gates finished his tenure as Microsoft CEO (1975¨C2000), Steve Ballmer took over the role to head the tech giant, a role he played for 14 years (2000-2014) until Satya Nadella took over the position. It was during Steve Ballmer¡¯s tenure when Microsoft¡¯s rival Apple launched its first ever iPhone (in 2007), at which the then Microsoft CEO laughed.

Also Read : How A Lost iPhone Led To Warren Buffett Investing Billions In Apple

Why Did Former Steve Ballmer Laugh At The iPhone?

When he was asked what he was thinking back in 2007 when he laughed at the release of the iPhone, Ballmer explained that the device's high price drove his mocking laughter, as per the Mashable report. Well, as history has shown, the joke was on Ballmer, as the iPhone has become Apple's greatest success.

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How Did Apple React To It?

According to a Fortune report, when Apple heard about Ballmer¡¯s laugh, everyone on the iPhone team ¡°laughed at him.¡±

Also Read: Warren Buffett Regrets Not Investing In Amazon, Google & Microsoft

What Is Microsoft¡¯s Biggest Mistake, As Per All Its CEOs?

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Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, and even Satya Nadella All of these Microsoft CEOs have a common thought about what their biggest mistake is at Microsoft. It is the company¡¯s exit from the mobile phone business that could have been handled better. All three Microsoft CEOs have, at different points in their lives, admitted that the company could have done better by focusing on the phone category.

Before Satya Nadella admitted the big mistake, Microsoft's co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates had said his ¡°greatest mistake ever¡± was Microsoft losing to Android.

Besides Bill Gates, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was also slow to respond to Android and the iPhone threat, focusing the company¡¯s efforts on Windows Mobile while famously laughing at the iPhone, calling it the ¡°most expensive phone in the world, and it doesn¡¯t appeal to business customers because it doesn¡¯t have a keyboard.¡±

Steve Ballmer, as per The Verge, admitted in 2013 that he regretted not focusing on the phone much earlier. ¡°I regret there was a period in the early 2000s when we were so focused on what we had to do around Windows [Vista] that we weren¡¯t able to redeploy talent to the new device called the phone,¡± explained Ballmer. ¡°That is [the] thing I regret the most.¡±

Also Read: Why Did Microsoft & Apple Skip The Number 9 For iPhone & Windows

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