However, the world eventually changed. Apple took the opposite bet, staking its future on the notion that if its hardware – glossy Macs, iPhones and iPads - was good enough, it could persuade customers to swap Windows for their own iOS platform. The company, which had once nipped at Microsoft’s heels, managed to topple it from its position as the biggest technology business in the world. Google was not far behind, using its free Android operating system and cloud storage to woo hardware companies like Samsung to its platform and push Microsoft yet another rung lower.