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Google is not really good at hardware, they tried high end phones but were not very successful. They realised that and moved to mid tier phones. More than perfo

Google is not really good at hardware, they tried high end phones but were not very successful. They realised that and moved to mid tier phones. More than performance they are focusing on creating a Google ecosystem where all their hardware and services integrate seamlessly.

cbozeman 6y ago
Yeah, as it turns out, making exceptional shit from the ground up is really really tough. Hence the reason Google Fiber got laughed out of existence. Google thought everyone would just bend over backwards and laud their arrival. I guess they were shocked that it would require money and actual effort, like most difficult undertakings.
- vlovich123 6y ago
  Contradictory evidence to your point is that they regularly design all kinds of data center Hw (famous for starting the whole paradigm of building data centers with consumer HW) and build best-in-industry ML accelerators (TPUs). Don’t mistake building and selling consumer HW with building components. Very different problems. The former is as equal parts art as it is engineering. Building your own CPU will be vastly simpler. Whether or not Google has the same level of coordination between HW and SW to have Android benefit so greatly, I don’t know. It’s also unclear how big a step building the CPU is for Google. Lots of talented people on that project. That being said, it’s already behind schedule if I recall correctly so it legitimately could be causing them problems. Or they don’t have enough direction and good leadership to actually execute competently
scoopertrooper 6y ago
I think their problem was they just tried to be too clever about the whole thing. If Google just produced a modern looking phone with top-tier specs and a nice clean Android install with no bloatware and some extra AI smarts, they'd be having trouble keeping up with the demand. Instead, they came to market with ugly outdated designs to support wizz-bang features that nobody cared about. I feel like they almost hit the mark with the Pixel 5 line, but for some reason they lost the confidence to stick a 8XX series processor in it.
- sangnoir 6y ago
  > If Google just produced a modern looking phone with top-tier specs and a nice clean Android install with no bloatware and some extra AI smarts, they'd be having trouble keeping up with the demand. Google had most of that (excluding AI) when they owned Motorola's phone unit. The phones had clean Android, respectable specs, inoffensively designed and very competitive on pricing. Unfortunately, Google had to unbundle Motorola, in part due to anti-trust concerns, as well as Samsung's public and private grumbling about the arrangement (Tizen, and a handful of Windows Mobile phones where promoted as a shot across Google's bow, in the same timeframe).

cbozeman 6y ago

Yeah, as it turns out, making exceptional shit from the ground up is really really tough. Hence the reason Google Fiber got laughed out of existence. Google thought everyone would just bend over backwards and laud their arrival. I guess they were shocked that it would require money and actual effort, like most difficult undertakings.

vlovich123 6y ago
Contradictory evidence to your point is that they regularly design all kinds of data center Hw (famous for starting the whole paradigm of building data centers with consumer HW) and build best-in-industry ML accelerators (TPUs). Don’t mistake building and selling consumer HW with building components. Very different problems. The former is as equal parts art as it is engineering. Building your own CPU will be vastly simpler. Whether or not Google has the same level of coordination between HW and SW to have Android benefit so greatly, I don’t know. It’s also unclear how big a step building the CPU is for Google. Lots of talented people on that project. That being said, it’s already behind schedule if I recall correctly so it legitimately could be causing them problems. Or they don’t have enough direction and good leadership to actually execute competently

scoopertrooper 6y ago

I think their problem was they just tried to be too clever about the whole thing. If Google just produced a modern looking phone with top-tier specs and a nice clean Android install with no bloatware and some extra AI smarts, they'd be having trouble keeping up with the demand. Instead, they came to market with ugly outdated designs to support wizz-bang features that nobody cared about. I feel like they almost hit the mark with the Pixel 5 line, but for some reason they lost the confidence to stick a 8XX series processor in it.

sangnoir 6y ago
> If Google just produced a modern looking phone with top-tier specs and a nice clean Android install with no bloatware and some extra AI smarts, they'd be having trouble keeping up with the demand. Google had most of that (excluding AI) when they owned Motorola's phone unit. The phones had clean Android, respectable specs, inoffensively designed and very competitive on pricing. Unfortunately, Google had to unbundle Motorola, in part due to anti-trust concerns, as well as Samsung's public and private grumbling about the arrangement (Tizen, and a handful of Windows Mobile phones where promoted as a shot across Google's bow, in the same timeframe).