Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is currently working with QNX to produce its new CarPlay system, which simultaneously competes directly against QNX’s own product, CAR 2. This truly schizophrenic arrangement sees both firms helping the other which increases competitive pressure against their own products. Apple’s use of QNX to help produce CarPlay provides their competitor with funds and a close look at proprietary Apple technology, while QNX is enabling Apple Inc.’s efforts to compete successfully against their own in-house product.
A similar situation is visible in the relationship between Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung. The two electronics giants have been pummeling each other with brutal patent infringement suits for years, and the top executives of the firms are unable to resolve their differences even in face to face talks. Yet, at the same time, Apple’s iPhone processors are built by Samsung. This is slated to change as of 2015 – the feud has become too bitter for the companies to continue to work together. Nevertheless, they did so for a long time despite enmity.
In fact, CarPlay seems to run on top of the QNX CAR 2 system. The two function together, though CAR 2 also works without CarPlay. QNX’s website lists Apple Inc. (AAPL) as a strategic partner.
All of these factors indicate, not that there is something “wrong” with the current business model of the electronics world, but that computing and technology have grown too far to be monopolized by any one firm. With sufficiently advanced technology, it is clearly extremely difficult for any one company to do everything “in-house,” even with the resources of an Apple or a Samsung at their disposal. There is inevitably another firm whose specialized focus enables excellence in production that it would difficult for a more generalized company to emulate.
The cooperation between competitors – even bitter competitors – in today’s consumer electronics sector could be argued to indicate a pursuit of quality and ongoing advancement that outranks even the competitive concerns of any single firm. To stay at the cutting edge, tech companies need to cooperate at the same time they fight for market share.
This, in turn, could ultimately be beneficial to consumers, with competitive pressures promoting cross-fertilization of ideas and manufacturing methods rather than leading to corporate isolation that would perhaps slow the rate of technological improvement. As Apple Inc. (AAPL) and QNX show, the demands of the modern tech world requires exchanges with competitors in order to stay competitive – a trend that may prove mostly beneficial to innovation and technical advance, since as the ancient proverb declares, “iron sharpens iron.”
