1. Apple And Facebook Meet:The year was 2006 and Facebook was facing stiff competition from MySpace. The social network was nowhere as big as it is today. It had 8.3 million users and was the 7th most visited website in the US. Facebook made friends with Apple by signing a deal with Apple to give away 10 million free iTunes samplers to Facebook users.
This was the first time Facebook and Apple had an association. Apple had also launched the Apple Student group on Facebook. It was a runaway success with 450,000 people joining the group in a short time.
2. iOS4 Designed With Facebook Integration But…The setting changed and it was 2010. Facebook had become the biggest social networking site and was a force to reckon with. Apple was just about to launch its iPhone 4 and iTunes10. Media reports were ripe with reports of Apple and Facebook working together.
According to an Apple employee, “Apple had fully integrated Facebook into the iPhone and iPad’s operating system, and was ready to launch...…” Apple had also come up with Ping which was a social media for iTune users. That was supposed to have Facebook integration as well.
The video demonstrated by Apple for iPhone4 also showed Facebook integration. Then something terrible happened.
3. Ping Causes Rift Between Apple And FacebookApple was all set to launch its iPhone4 and iTunes 10 with Facebook integration but the deal just fell through. Apparently Facebook and Apple could not reach an agreement on certain terms. According to Jobs the terms offered by Mark were ‘onerous’.
Apple anyways tried to launch its new products with Facebook integration without the social network’s consent. When Facebook got to know this they sealed their API.
4. Facebook App For iPad Causes More Problems:In 2010, Jobs visited Mark to discuss about Facebook iPad application. Zuckerberg had promised to create their first tablet app with iPad.
An apple employee says, “Roughly three months ago, Steve Jobs — then the Apple CEO — paid a visit to Facebook to discuss a Facebook for iPad application with CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg promised Jobs that the social network would release its first ever tablet application for iPad.”.
Jobs later got to know that Facebook had already developed an app for HP’s TouchPad, Apple’s rival. Needless to say Jobs was furious. Mark then tried to pacify the situation by asking Jon Rubinstein at HP to remove the FB app. HP refused to comply and Mark ended up freezing HP’s access to FB’s API.
5. Facebook Apple Kiss And Makeup:After the HP debacle Facebook and Apple became friends again. In fact both the companies were working closely.
“Not only are the pair finally aligned on the Facebook for iPad application, but they’ve been working together closely on Facebook’s HTML 5 mobile app platform. This is the closest Apple and Facebook have been to creating something meaningful together, one source says. They’re partnering because they share a common enemy: Google.” reveals a close aid of the company.
6. Facebook And Apple Change Relationship Status To Committed:After all these years and several talks about working together, their union became a reality in June2012. On Monday, Apple unveiled their latest version of iOS and its new Mountain Lion for Macs. The relationship seems to have been strengthened because of a common enemy Google.
Apple announced that the latest version of iOS will have deep Facebook integration. This will include a ‘like’ function for Apple’s App and iTunes store and integration with Siri will also be seen. Apple will also have a public API for third party app developers to be able to better integrate the feature into their app. Apple also announced Facebook integration into Mountain Lion for Macs.
Users around the world must be rejoicing because of this union. The world’s two most admired and loved companies have come together. Finally!
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