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Google's fundamental need is a coherent and competitive OEM ecosystem. It so happens that making hardware, like Microsoft makes Surface products, is one way to

by Zigurd 9y ago

Google's fundamental need is a coherent and competitive OEM ecosystem. It so happens that making hardware, like Microsoft makes Surface products, is one way to help that along. It used to be accepted wisdom that when a platform provider competes with their ecosystem partners, that's a bad thing. Now it's "complicated." For example, let's suppose Android One takes off and all the cheaper-tier OEMs let Google handle the OS updates, and let's suppose that lights a fire under Samsung and other upper-tier OEMs to provide more-timely updates for longer. Does Google still need to make 3% of the hardware market share?

dmitriid 9y ago
> Google's fundamental need is a coherent and competitive OEM ecosystem. Nope, it doesn't. Because it means it has no means to control OS distribution, updates, and hardware improvements. Google is now entirely dependent on OEMs to deliver Google's software. Let's say, Google comes up with a great new idea. A true competitor to Apple's AR (well, Google had it a year and half ago), Face ID, camera tech etc. Right now it may take anywhere from a year to five years to get this into the hands of consumers. The only way to get anything coherent out of the Android ecosystem is to either impose extremely tight controls on major OEMs (Samsung will definitely not agree to that), or become an OEM.
- Zigurd 9y ago
  They are working on it. Currently several OEMs including Moto, Xiaomi, and Sharp are making AndroidOne phones. Project Treble further streamlines both AndroidOne and every OEM's porting. Absorbing significant market share from OEM partners isn't going to happen on the basis of a another couple of Pixel phones. It may come from rationalizing the platforms and porting requirements for Android.
  - dmitriid 9y ago
    > They are working on it. The've been working on it for several years now. The result? Nothing is really happening. Let's take AR as an example. Google had Tango ~1.5 years before Apple announced their AR. Tango had rationalisation and platform requirements for Android devices. End result? - Tango was moving nowhere. There were ~0 devices supporting it. - Apple announces AR. It will be immediately available on ~200 million devices within a few months of iOS 11's release - Google scrambles to remove some of the requirements from Tango and launch it ... for the two top devices on the market only. Running Nougat and up. That is, ~14% of ~10% of the Android market. And the same goes for any other initiative that Google may have in the Android space.

by Zigurd 9y ago

dmitriid 9y ago

> Google's fundamental need is a coherent and competitive OEM ecosystem. Nope, it doesn't. Because it means it has no means to control OS distribution, updates, and hardware improvements. Google is now entirely dependent on OEMs to deliver Google's software. Let's say, Google comes up with a great new idea. A true competitor to Apple's AR (well, Google had it a year and half ago), Face ID, camera tech etc. Right now it may take anywhere from a year to five years to get this into the hands of consumers. The only way to get anything coherent out of the Android ecosystem is to either impose extremely tight controls on major OEMs (Samsung will definitely not agree to that), or become an OEM.

Zigurd 9y ago
They are working on it. Currently several OEMs including Moto, Xiaomi, and Sharp are making AndroidOne phones. Project Treble further streamlines both AndroidOne and every OEM's porting. Absorbing significant market share from OEM partners isn't going to happen on the basis of a another couple of Pixel phones. It may come from rationalizing the platforms and porting requirements for Android.
- dmitriid 9y ago
  > They are working on it. The've been working on it for several years now. The result? Nothing is really happening. Let's take AR as an example. Google had Tango ~1.5 years before Apple announced their AR. Tango had rationalisation and platform requirements for Android devices. End result? - Tango was moving nowhere. There were ~0 devices supporting it. - Apple announces AR. It will be immediately available on ~200 million devices within a few months of iOS 11's release - Google scrambles to remove some of the requirements from Tango and launch it ... for the two top devices on the market only. Running Nougat and up. That is, ~14% of ~10% of the Android market. And the same goes for any other initiative that Google may have in the Android space.