Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Google used the annual CES technology conference to announce plans to further mimic Apple by deepening ties among devices.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
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 Inc. 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.
MacDailyNews Take: Google will attempt to knock off Apple’s AirPods pairing, AirDrop, Photo Stream, Apple Watch unlocking of computers and smartwatches, AirPods audio source transfer across devices, AirPods spatial audio based on head movement, digital car keys, and transfer of passwords and WiFi credentials between devices.
In other words, Google continues to copy features Apple users have long had. Par for the course.
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“In other words, Google continues to copy features Apple users have long had. Par for the course.”
Trying to copy and actually copying are two different things. The advantage Apple has is big. Google could potentially do it for their own released products. Doing it for all Android based devices? That’s unlikely to happen.
I’m not going to put it past Google to succeed. They’ve come very far and been extremely competitive with using software to compensate for hardware in several areas. Abstracting the hardware may not be as hard for them as some imagine, especially with Samsung pushing the hardware side for the Android camp.
My comment wasn’t meant as a knock on Google. I don’t doubt they’ll accomplish some of it. Google has resources and skill. But Google and Android smartphone makers in general understandably take advantage of wide varying model offerings and features and software for greater sales. And that cat is out of the bag and it isn’t ever going back in. Stop and consider why Apple is still able to put full OS updates on iPhones as old as the 6, while for Android makers updating phones that old with full OS is virtually unheard of. It isn’t because they don’t have engineers and skills, it is because their devices and features are so massively varying that the task to keep everything cohesively running together isn’t feasible. That is exactly the issue Google is up against now when trying to mimic Apple’s tight eco functionality. Oddly you could call it in this instance Google a victim of their own success. They have a million moving parts to try to make work together, to make it issue free for a billion users of widely varying devices and SW variations. Also consider why you see smartwatches from competitors come out that work only on their phones, not across Android. Conversely Apple has about a thousand moving parts. Apple’s grand scheme that limits its hardware and features (and sometime sales) makes the task eminently feasible for them. Yet even with this comparatively extremely tight circle of products and software, even Apple hits snags with the eco. Now extrapolate that out to consider how many snags Google will likely hit. It’ll dwarf what Apple has to overcome.
Yeah that’s a brilliant idea… Nice that Google his finally admitted to doing something for 20 years, kinda like how MSFT came out the Surface line and kinda sorta maybe copied all of Apple’s hardware, fucking over their “hardware partners”.
Yeah it’s a good $4T strategy.
I would not buy one f’ing item from google as they sell every drop of data they can squeeze from you….I have a Nest Thermostat and it’s never operated the same since google bought them.
That is Google’s (and Facebook) vast lion share of its profits, data collection. Data recently overtook oil as the most valuable commodity in terms of revenue generated. The more data they collect, the more revenue they generate. For some users, big corporations sweeping up every scrap of data about you from every device you operate is of no concern. To each their own. But for those who do consider that troubling, like me, Google (and now Amazon Alexa) just isn’t an option. This is why I stick with HomeKit devices. There’s significantly less options for HomeKit and they’re generally quite a bit pricier. But that’s the cost for keeping your nearly every movement private. Without a company being able to collect and sell your data, they’d raise prices too. That’s the choice.
No problem, Apple bring back Airport to compete in mesh with an Apple like security touch and bring on Apple search, deeply integrated but without the creepines. And you’ve got to actually make home kit devices.