Google To Rival Apple by Further Deepening Ties Among Devices

Alphabet's Google used the annual CES technology conference to showcase upcoming deeper ties among its devices and preview support for unlocking more cars with Android phones. From a report: The enhancements announced Wednesday included more quickly pairing accessories with devices running Google's Android and Chromebook laptop software, unlocking devices with Google software via smartwatches running Google's Wear OS and sharing content across products. The new features mirror work Apple has done with its software and hardware, an effort that has led consumers to buy more types of Apple devices. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has long touted its ecosystem as superior to Google's because of tight integration, and now Google is trying to rival that experience.

Great idea

[SuperKendall]

I wondered why Google didn't do more of this, I know some people are against multiple devices working together like this because of lock in but I have to say, I think the overall convenience for users outweighs any negative issues. Especially better watch/phone integration, using that to unlock things just by wearing it is really handy.

Re:

[b0s0z0ku]

It's not that you should be against it, but it should be optional and not the default to "care'n'share" data via the Clown (aka Other People's Servers).

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Integration is fine, if it's done by open standards so that you can integrate what you want. One of the reasons Apple's integration is considered so unusually shitty compared to the industry average, is that it only integrates with other Apple products. Not that Apple products are bad but they're just one of n manufacturers, so they're the right choice for you about 1/n of the time, just like everyone else's product.

Use standards, though, and then you can use your favorite for each type of device. Except Ap

Re:

[NFN_NLN]

> Apple's integration is considered so unusually shitty compared to the industry average, is that it only integrates with other Apple products.

If that's "shitty", what do you call it when products under the same vendor don't integrate with each other?

Re:

[crgrace]

> Apple's integration is considered so unusually shitty compared to the industry average, is that it only integrates with other Apple products.

If that's "shitty", what do you call it when products under the same vendor don't integrate with each other?

Among people I know, some appreciate the walled-garden of Apple (I know it isn't for everyone) and others appreciate the openness and mix-and-match aspects of Android.

It appears Google is trying to destroy what makes them popular. Their culture just isn't set up to compete with Apple head-to-head. Typical misguided cash grab.

Re:

[See Attached]

Its the walled garden that sucks.. Why do I HAVE to use an apple device to communicate with iPhone users? Decommoditizing technology is evil. Streaming an MP3 was eclipsed. SMS was "optimized" largely for those that provide the technology. not for the users that can't communicate with all. Discourage walled Gardens. Chose to communicate with All your friends and family by embracing open standards.

Lack of Google Device Commitment

[northerner]

I like Google. I like Gmail and many Google services.
I previously liked Google devices, but I will never buy another Google device since they drop support for them so quickly. I've been burned several times and had to retire phones and tablets prematurely because Google lost interest.
The last thing I want is a long term purchase like a car or TV somehow linked to a Google only device.

Re:

[eric2hill]

Perfect case in point - the Nest Cameras. I have several Nest cameras in my house, and one died. I bought a new Nest Cam (Floodlight) and had it installed. It had to be set up through the Google Home app, not the Nest App. And it won't show in the Nest App. The other Nest cameras show as devices in the Google Home app, but won't show the "all videos page" because Home doesn't have that feature. Terribly frustrating that a camera labeled Nest Cam won't freaking work with the Nest App like all the OTHER

Re:

[SomewhatRandom]

I replaced a nest thermostat with an ecobee... because once google bought Nest they required a google login for the device. They wouldn't accept my paid google apps for business login as they only support personal google accounts for the device. I have no interest in setting up another google account (the google apps for business account is a personal account I have maintained for years).

Next up, my Nest Yale Lock will be replaced with a non-nest product.

I was an Google/Android fan, but over the past few ye

Re:

[northerner]

Google can't seem to make a phone without a fatal flaw (I preferred vanilla Android). 3rd party phones can be ok (ex: Samsung), but they are filled with 3rd party garbage bloatware (ex: Samsung Bixby).

I really like Moto phones. They have mostly plain Android with minimal crapware (unlike Samsung) and they are affordable (unlike Samsung). They were available unlocked very early on. The recent Moto G Power is a great phone at $219.99 US.

Another shortsighted thing that Google did was selling off Motorola. Again, lack of vision and long-term commitment.

Re:

[Alwin Henseler]

Maybe, Google ultimately (still) is more a tech company than one that makes end-user targeted products.

So where cool technology & users' desires overlap, users may be in for a nice ride. But where it doesn't, Google moves on & users are left with a product with lousy support.

One could call it "product cycle mismatch": Google's idea might be the length of time technology X is cool, 'new', interesting and/or under development. End-user's idea might be lifetime of a device's hardware tha

Graphene

[Rotting]

Personally, I cannot stand Google or Apple, so I switched to Graphene OS https://grapheneos.org/ [grapheneos.org] a while ago and haven't looked back since. De-googled android with a focus on security. The monthly security updates (and many others) are always delivered quickly and it's currently on Android 12. Unfortunately they only support Pixel phones but I still recommend checking it out.

It’ll only work if

[hdyoung]

Google supports their hardware for more than 3 years. Quite a few iDevices I own are 5-8 years old. Even the ones that wont take the latest and greatest ios are still plugged into the ecosystem and operating just fine as kid devices and secondary units for the adults.

People in this forum like to crap on apple at every opportunity, but Apple devices last quite a bit longer than androids. More to do with os support that physical device quality.

Re:

[dnaumov]

Not to mention that Google is roughly 10-15 years too late. You don't "just build" an enticing integrated ecosystem in a year or two.

LOL

[waspleg]

As someone who regularly spends ~30+ minutes on hold with Apple for their ENTERPRISE support, feel free to suck Tim Apple's cock all the way to the bathhouse.

Their bureaucracy makes the Federal Government look like it's run by Jeff Bezos. I literally talked to SIX DIFFERENT APPLE DEPARTMENTS just yesterday trying to find out what happened to a single fucking iPad that they said they shipped but FedEx disagrees.

Usually, they pretend like the possibility that they fucked something is absolutely unprecedented

Re: It’ll only work if

[ArmoredDragon]

Pixel, OnePlus, and I think Samsung have all moved to 5 years.

Re:

[hdyoung]

Hey, I didn't know that. That's going in the right direction.

Say what you will about Apple...

[Pibroch(CiH)]

.. but I trust them way more than Google doing this kind of shit.

Value Add

[havmerci]

Only got halfway through the subject line before my mind auto-completed as "Google To Rival Apple by ... Further Expanding Market Capitalization."

Every Big Tech company is working on

[waspleg]

vertical integration, bringing their own hardware designed in house, and coming up with ways to lock you in to their walled silo while expanding their "moat" and vendor lock-in monopolies.

They are working towards being a cartel, and leaving you with no ownership of anything you buy from them, but also no other choice but to pick one.

Android integration blows chunks

[bloodhawk]

I much prefer Android to Apple, But fuck me google don't have a clue when it comes to integration, from the dog shit android auto to cross device integration and consistency, it fucking blows chunks. I prefer Google stay the fuck away from trying to integrate, they just don't know how to do it properly.