Google's Osterloh Looks To Get Jump on Apple With Earlier Launch (bloomberg.com) 11
With its hardware event on Tuesday, Alphabet's Google is trying to outshine Apple's annual iPhone launch -- and is letting longtime executive Rick Osterloh take center stage. Bloomberg: Osterloh, the former president of Motorola who joined Google in 2016, will helm the first major product launch after the company this year unified under his leadership the teams developing hardware and the Android operating system. The reorganization expanded Osterloh's influence in the company and signaled that Google intends to compete in hardware for the long term.
In a sign of a more aggressive push into consumer devices, Google moved up its annual flagship Pixel smartphone launch to August from October, preempting the next Apple. iPhone debut and seizing attention during a typically quiet period for the industry. [...] By holding its hardware showcase a month ahead of the iPhone maker's largest annual event, Google is "frontrunning Apple and also making a statement that we are likely way ahead of what Apple will show for iPhone 16 at least," said Mandeep Singh, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.
Google has at least a six-month head start on Apple, which has invested less in AI over the years than some of its Big Tech peers, he added. Google's strategy -- tying together the development of hardware, software and services -- carries echoes of Apple's successful approach to designing devices. Yet, as Osterloh seeks to capitalize on the opportunity presented by AI, he faces a perennial challenge for Google: bringing the fight to Apple without threatening key relationships with hardware giants such as Xiaomi that rely on the Android operating system.
In a sign of a more aggressive push into consumer devices, Google moved up its annual flagship Pixel smartphone launch to August from October, preempting the next Apple. iPhone debut and seizing attention during a typically quiet period for the industry. [...] By holding its hardware showcase a month ahead of the iPhone maker's largest annual event, Google is "frontrunning Apple and also making a statement that we are likely way ahead of what Apple will show for iPhone 16 at least," said Mandeep Singh, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.
Google has at least a six-month head start on Apple, which has invested less in AI over the years than some of its Big Tech peers, he added. Google's strategy -- tying together the development of hardware, software and services -- carries echoes of Apple's successful approach to designing devices. Yet, as Osterloh seeks to capitalize on the opportunity presented by AI, he faces a perennial challenge for Google: bringing the fight to Apple without threatening key relationships with hardware giants such as Xiaomi that rely on the Android operating system.
Google needs to change... (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
It does seem the promises Google has made with the Pixel have never really come to be. It hasn't really been the flagship of Android phones, with Samsung seeming to fill that spot. The long-term support has only been there in terms of basic updates, rather than new features as iPhones generally see for some years, and it seems Google has been very quick to generally turn their backs on each model as they move to the next.
Re: Google needs to change... (Score:2)
It's Not Gonna Work (Score:2)
Samsung does this already and the second Apple makes their announcements you hear nothing about Samsung anymore. This is like putting up your billboard only to have someone else paint theirs over it. I can't imagine it'll be successful. Reality is that the iPhone appeals more to US consumers and will continue to grab attention more than the Pixel, no matter if it's announced before or after the annual iPhone announcement.
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Another issue is that, while Google does have its fanbois, it can't match Apple in that regard. Tim Cook and crew can get up on stage and spew some bogus flim-flam about their new "AI" phone features, and a non-trivial chunk of the fan base will immediately queue up to buy the device - it'll take a while before the rest of the voices saying "this didn't actually add anything we care about" get heard. If Osterloh, on the other hand, gets up on stage and starts prattling on about a bunch of AI-enabled feature
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I already know better than to buy anything from Samsung, because they bundle the software on their products with bloatware that seemingly gets even buggier and more intrusive as time goes on. After 2 or 3 years, you'll be ready to throw that garbage out and buy something new.
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It works well for Samsung because when Apple announces is all old stuff that Android did years ago and Samsung is on their 5th generation of.
It's a running joke at this point. "Maybe next year."
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Samsung does this already and the second Apple makes their announcements you hear nothing about Samsung anymore. This is like putting up your billboard only to have someone else paint theirs over it. I can't imagine it'll be successful. Reality is that the iPhone appeals more to US consumers and will continue to grab attention more than the Pixel, no matter if it's announced before or after the annual iPhone announcement.
I think the opposite is occurring, people just aren't caring about Apple's product launches any more. Long gone are the days where they'd get several days of build up in major publications, in fact they're lucky to get a mention on most news sources these days. Outside of certain tech circles no-one really cares if Apple releases another phone... or Samsung or Google. It's not that Google is getting the same number of viewers as Apple, it's that Apple is dropping to getting the same level of attention as Sa
Check out google graveyard before buying... (Score:2)
Hardware and OS by an advertising company with ADHD.
https://killedbygoogle.com/ [killedbygoogle.com]
Not sure why they wouuld care (Score:1)
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Apple consumers *chose* to run iOS. Many of us begrudgingly use Android only after it killed off the competition.
My first phone was a 'dumbphone' Nokia with the Francisco Tarrega theme tune. I have previously owned hardware running Symbian, Maemo and Firefox OS, while my non-techie brother had a Lumia with Windows 8.
In coming months, I hope to buy an Avaota A1 based single board computer in the hopes Pine64 may finally get around to releasing a PinePhone 2.