With its grand entry into the healthcare industry, Apple looks to leverage its enormous consumer brand popularity and loyalty into building a centralized “data hub” for healthcare. But its primary competitor Google, with its own Android healthcare apps, could eat into Apple’s share with its popular apps, enterprise-friendly approach, and budget-conscious pricing.
As valid as these reasons are, there is one factor that cannot be ignored: data security and privacy. Google has long been known for monetizing whatever data it can obtain. Apple, on the other hand, has recently updated its privacy policy, emphasizing that it is “not in the business of collecting data” for marketing purposes. Not only does this make iOS easier to comply with health privacy laws than Android, it also helps put patients and healthcare practitioners at ease.
