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I'd definitely welcome this - it seems like Google has been way behind Apple with a solid watch competitors and given they've got the rest of the ecosystem with

I'd definitely welcome this - it seems like Google has been way behind Apple with a solid watch competitors and given they've got the rest of the ecosystem with the Pixels, Chromebooks, and headphones, bulking up their capabilities there alongside the HTC team acquisition seems logical

blisterpeanuts 7y ago
What headphones does Google sell?
- atlasunshrugged 7y ago
  They've got the Pixelbuds, I think the niftiest feature on them was live translation
pfranz 7y ago
Ugh... I get how Google's acquisition would make sense, but why does every company have to do everything? I know it's because of walled gardens and "integration" but it really sucks if you really like Fitbit because of some niche feature you're compelled to buy into the whole ecosystem. After watching what happened to Nest I don't see how any current owner would be excited. I saw a newer, lower priced version released and being forced over to Google services. They used the brand and likely the team to develop more products, but none of them seem very compelling. They're all fairly identical to products other companies make.
- plexicle 7y ago
  Well in this case, Google kind of has to do something with wearables. Apple Watch is pulling people over. Unless you were suggesting in your comment that Apple should release the AW from the walled garden and allow it to work on Android? In that case, I agree!
  - pfranz 7y ago
    > Apple should release the AW from the walled garden and allow it to work on Android Basically. Sure, I'm generally biased towards Apple products, but it just seems like wasted effort they all develop their own phone, smart speaker, virtual assistant, watch, etc. I don't feel like its doing the traditional "competition making everyone better." Instead it feels more like a checklist of portfolio items. I do see the value in integrating with your own stuff, but I just don't see these product categories improving that much. When any big company buys one of these smaller companies I feel like the wish is that they stay the same and ignore them. I can't really think of any of these cases where I've been happier at the result. The best bet is probably something like Withings. It was acquired by Nokia in 2016 and sold back to the founder in 2018. My pre-2016 scale still works and connects great. Sure, we might not have these companies at all if they weren't acquired, but they also wouldn't have been built up the same way if their goal wasn't a big buyout.

blisterpeanuts 7y ago

What headphones does Google sell?

atlasunshrugged 7y ago
They've got the Pixelbuds, I think the niftiest feature on them was live translation

pfranz 7y ago

Ugh... I get how Google's acquisition would make sense, but why does every company have to do everything? I know it's because of walled gardens and "integration" but it really sucks if you really like Fitbit because of some niche feature you're compelled to buy into the whole ecosystem. After watching what happened to Nest I don't see how any current owner would be excited. I saw a newer, lower priced version released and being forced over to Google services. They used the brand and likely the team to develop more products, but none of them seem very compelling. They're all fairly identical to products other companies make.

plexicle 7y ago
Well in this case, Google kind of has to do something with wearables. Apple Watch is pulling people over. Unless you were suggesting in your comment that Apple should release the AW from the walled garden and allow it to work on Android? In that case, I agree!
- pfranz 7y ago
  > Apple should release the AW from the walled garden and allow it to work on Android Basically. Sure, I'm generally biased towards Apple products, but it just seems like wasted effort they all develop their own phone, smart speaker, virtual assistant, watch, etc. I don't feel like its doing the traditional "competition making everyone better." Instead it feels more like a checklist of portfolio items. I do see the value in integrating with your own stuff, but I just don't see these product categories improving that much. When any big company buys one of these smaller companies I feel like the wish is that they stay the same and ignore them. I can't really think of any of these cases where I've been happier at the result. The best bet is probably something like Withings. It was acquired by Nokia in 2016 and sold back to the founder in 2018. My pre-2016 scale still works and connects great. Sure, we might not have these companies at all if they weren't acquired, but they also wouldn't have been built up the same way if their goal wasn't a big buyout.