Apple Productivity Experience Group
operating unit of Microsoft that develops software for Apple platforms
Apple Productivity Experience Group (known as APEX) is an operating unit of Microsoft that, as of 2009, is the largest software developer outside of Apple Inc. for the macOS and iOS operating systems. Formed as Macintosh Business Unit on January 7, 1997, it was initially composed of over 100 individuals from the existing cross platform Word, Excel, and PowerPoint teams in Microsoft's Office Division, and grew to 180 people the next year, with the addition of the Internet Explorer for Mac and Outlook Express for Mac teams. In 2000, it moved from the Office Division to the Specialized Devices and Applications Group inside the Entertainment and Devices Division, and is now back inside the Microsoft Office division.
History
Prior to the creation of the Mac BU, Microsoft had developed Macintosh software, starting in 1984 with Word 1.0 for Macintosh. During the early and mid 1990s, Microsoft's Word, Excel, and Powerpoint teams simultaneously developed Windows and Macintosh versions of these applications, but after releasing Office 97 for Windows, Microsoft decided, in January 1997, to form a separate Macintosh Business Unit to focus on creating applications optimized for the Macintosh platform. In August 1997, as part of a broader partnership agreement with Apple, Microsoft committed to continue developing and supporting Macintosh software for at least 5 more years, renewing this pledge on January 10, 2006, at the Macworld Conference & Expo. Ben Waldman was the Mac BU's founder and first General Manager (GM), serving from its inception in January 1997 through January 2000, when he was succeeded by Kevin Browne, who served through December 18, 2002, and Roz Ho, who served from December 18, 2002, to June 8, 2007; after that, Craig Eisler became the GM. In October 2008, Eisler was tapped by Robbie Bach to lead all Entertainment Client efforts, and Eric Wilfred became the GM of MacBU.
Software
APEX develops macOS and iOS versions of Microsoft Office and OneNote. Previously developed software by the Mac BU include Internet Explorer (development ceased in 2003), Virtual PC, and the MSN for Mac OS X browser (cancelled May 31, 2005).
The public source identifies “Apple Productivity Experience Group” as operating unit of Microsoft that develops software for Apple platforms. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Apple, Productivity and Experience.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2572815. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2009, 1997, 2000 and 1984.
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This entry incorporates text from “Apple Productivity Experience Group” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.