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> Why would Google care about how good chips for Android are? Google only cares about the Android ecosystem being good enough to deliver ads. Considering Googl

by mrep 7y ago

> Why would Google care about how good chips for Android are? Google only cares about the Android ecosystem being good enough to deliver ads. Considering Google paid Apple 12 billion dollars this year to be the default search engine on iOS [0], they have a very big incentive to build a high quality android phone to get iOS users to switch over. Those 3 or 4 million pixels could have been iOS users as I was one of those people last year when I decided to try out android again and the pixel was the first android I have ever used that didn't suck compared to my iphones (looking at you samsung galaxy s4). With apples draconian enforcement of what I can run on my iOS devices and set as defaults, I think I'll even stick to android unless it goes to shit or apple makes something radically better. [0]: https://fortune.com/2018/09/29/google-apple-safari-search-engine/ https://fortune.com/2018/09/29/google-apple-safari-search-en...

scarface74 7y ago
Considering that’s less than a weeks worth of iPhone sells, do you really think that’s going to help Google’s negotiating leverage when it’s time to renew their search deal with Apple? They’ve had over a decade to create an ecosystem that people are willing to actually spend money on. But statistically, people who are willing to spend money on a high end phone, a watch, $160+ headphones, etc veer toward Apple. Google has been selling its own branded phones and tablets for six or seven years unsuccessfully.
- OnlineGladiator 7y ago
  > Google has been selling its own branded phones and tablets for six or seven years unsuccessfully. The Pixel 3a seems to have been relatively successful. https://ww.9to5google.com/2019/08/20/report-google-sees-nearly-90-yoy-sales-growth-in-us-thanks-to-the-pixel-3a/ https://ww.9to5google.com/2019/08/20/report-google-sees-near...
  - scarface74 7y ago
    That’s one of those famous “Bezos statistics”. Where Amazon brags about year over year growth and shows charts with no Y axis with actual numbers.
    - OnlineGladiator 7y ago
      I agree - whenever hard numbers aren't shared you never really know (there are a couple of very rare instances where this rule is justified, but it's usually just to hide less-than-stellar sales numbers). But even so, it strongly indicates that Google has a winning formula with cheap hardware, vanilla Android, and good cameras - if they could just unfuck their messaging app ecosystem they might start to make a bigger dent against Apple. And while Pixel vs. iPhone is not the same discussion as iOS vs Android, it's worth mentioning Android has grown over the past several years whereas iOS has largely stalled. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide/#monthly-201005-201910 https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide/...
      - scarface74 7y ago
        I agree. But companies aren’t in business to gain marketshare. Their in business to make a profit. The cumulative profit of all Android manufacturers have historically been a around a fourth or fifth of Apple’s. The only company making money from Android’s ubiquity is Google and even they made less than $25 billion in profit from its inception until the time of the Oracle trial (it came out as part of discovery). They still pay Apple $8 billion to $12 billion a year to be the default search engine on iOS devices. That doesn’t sound like “winning” to me. But Apple also realizes that iPhone sells are stagnating. But at the same time they have auxiliary products that are all making revenues and profits that any of the Android makers would die for from watches, AirPods, and services.

by mrep 7y ago

scarface74 7y ago

Considering that’s less than a weeks worth of iPhone sells, do you really think that’s going to help Google’s negotiating leverage when it’s time to renew their search deal with Apple? They’ve had over a decade to create an ecosystem that people are willing to actually spend money on. But statistically, people who are willing to spend money on a high end phone, a watch, $160+ headphones, etc veer toward Apple. Google has been selling its own branded phones and tablets for six or seven years unsuccessfully.

OnlineGladiator 7y ago
> Google has been selling its own branded phones and tablets for six or seven years unsuccessfully. The Pixel 3a seems to have been relatively successful. https://ww.9to5google.com/2019/08/20/report-google-sees-nearly-90-yoy-sales-growth-in-us-thanks-to-the-pixel-3a/ https://ww.9to5google.com/2019/08/20/report-google-sees-near...
- scarface74 7y ago
  That’s one of those famous “Bezos statistics”. Where Amazon brags about year over year growth and shows charts with no Y axis with actual numbers.
  - OnlineGladiator 7y ago
    I agree - whenever hard numbers aren't shared you never really know (there are a couple of very rare instances where this rule is justified, but it's usually just to hide less-than-stellar sales numbers). But even so, it strongly indicates that Google has a winning formula with cheap hardware, vanilla Android, and good cameras - if they could just unfuck their messaging app ecosystem they might start to make a bigger dent against Apple. And while Pixel vs. iPhone is not the same discussion as iOS vs Android, it's worth mentioning Android has grown over the past several years whereas iOS has largely stalled. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide/#monthly-201005-201910 https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide/...
    - scarface74 7y ago
      I agree. But companies aren’t in business to gain marketshare. Their in business to make a profit. The cumulative profit of all Android manufacturers have historically been a around a fourth or fifth of Apple’s. The only company making money from Android’s ubiquity is Google and even they made less than $25 billion in profit from its inception until the time of the Oracle trial (it came out as part of discovery). They still pay Apple $8 billion to $12 billion a year to be the default search engine on iOS devices. That doesn’t sound like “winning” to me. But Apple also realizes that iPhone sells are stagnating. But at the same time they have auxiliary products that are all making revenues and profits that any of the Android makers would die for from watches, AirPods, and services.