Sorry Microsoft, Delta is switching to iOS

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Delta Air Lines
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Delta Air Lines plans to ditch all its Windows devices in favor of iOS next year.

iPhone 7 Plus will replace its fleet of Nokia handsets, while iPad Pro will take the place of Microsoft’s Surface tablet.

Delta has been using Windows devices for a range of tasks. Nokia Lumia phones provide in-flight customer service and manage sales. The Surface acts as an electronic flight bag. But Delta’s next-generation of devices will all be powered by iOS.

The transition will affect “more than 23,000 flight attendants and 14,000 pilots,” according to an email sent to Delta employees. All will receive an iPhone 7 Plus or an iPad Pro “as the airline transitions to its next generation of flight crew devices.”

Delta joins other airlines in adopting iOS

The move brings Delta “in line with its Joint Venture partners at Aeromexico, Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic,” the company adds, while providing “a high degree of synergy and cooperation in the continued development and enhancement of aviation applications.”

Delta will maintain its partnership with Microsoft, it says, but its entire suite of tools for pilots and flight crew will be powered by iOS. This includes software like Jeppesen Flight Deck Pro for flight planning, Flight Weather View Plus, and a library of manuals.

The switch will come in 2018

“Delta will begin jointly rolling out the iPads to pilots and iPhones to flight attendants early next year,” the company adds.

MacOSKen obtained the email from two separate sources, but Delta is yet to make the news public.

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