7 ms·

I think you're overlooking some decent wins because they weren't world changers for general consumers. For hardware, I think all of the following could be cons

I think you're overlooking some decent wins because they weren't world changers for general consumers. For hardware, I think all of the following could be considered a success: - Pixel phone - Chromecast - Chromebooks (as school computers) For software: - Youtube TV seems to be a massive hit. - Google Classroom has a lot of users in the ed tech space. - Just in my social circle, I'm noticing more and more people using Google Photos in the past few years (even iOS users). I think might be due to growing usage of Google One.

chasil 4y ago
For the moment, the Pixel phones are the largest family that supports an independent ROM that implements VoLTE. A vast swath of LineageOS supported devices have been retired for this reason, and Pixels are the largest family remaining. Oddly enough, if you want control of a device that minimizes Google's influence, then you probably want a Pixel.
- sudosysgen 4y ago
  Actually that would be the Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco series.
  - chasil 4y ago
    I see 12 devices from Google on the LineageOS 19 announcement page. Motorola/Lenovo has the next largest share, with 10. The eBPF subsystem is described as the main driver for ending so many devices, instead of VoLTE. https://lineageos.org/Changelog-26/ https://lineageos.org/Changelog-26/
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
divbzero 4y ago
I would also count the following as software successes: 2012 - Google Drive 2017 - Google Meet
- asimpletune 4y ago
  Also google voice
  - crummy 4y ago
    I think Voice is great but it seems a bit abandoned from Google
    - guyzero 4y ago
      The feature set has not changed much since launch but it's definitely not abandoned.
      - Fatnino 4y ago
        The feature set has been reduced from the days when voice was still it's own company called grand central. I had more than one phone number but some time after Google came in they said pick one and the rest have to go.
        asimpletune 4y ago
        You can actually have more than one number still. I do at least. This happens if you add a number by porting your USA cell phone number to google voice. This gives you the option to keep both, although it’s $20 and you have actively elect to make your original google voice number permanent.
- aussiesnack 4y ago
  > 2012 - Google Drive The Linux version is lagging a tad: https://abevoelker.github.io/how-long-since-google-said-a-google-drive-linux-client-is-coming/ https://abevoelker.github.io/how-long-since-google-said-a-go...
  - jeffbee 4y ago
    By a huge margin the two biggest Linux clients of Drive are Android and ChromeOS. "Actually linux" is literally 5+ orders of magnitude smaller. Google maintains and updates 99.999% of Linux drive clients every month.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
marcammann 4y ago
The education space definitely relies on Google (was also big during the pandemic) and the tools are decent. But I was definitely surprised about the mentions of Chromecast and Youtube TV, particularly YouTube TV. All of the cord cutters I talked to opted for Fubo, Hulu or DirectTV. Good to hear it sees adoption. Is there a marketshare analysis that you're aware of?
- superfrank 4y ago
  Funny, I'm on the other end. I don't know a single person with Fubo or DirectTV and only a few with Hulu for live TV. Pretty much everyone I know has YTTV. According to this link, YTTV passed Hulu Live to become the largest player in the space in mid 2022 https://nscreenmedia.com/why-youtube-tv-is-the-number-1-vmvpd-in-america/ https://nscreenmedia.com/why-youtube-tv-is-the-number-1-vmvp...
- dkarl 4y ago
  Chromecast has somehow become ubiquitous without attracting much attention. I think even among the iPhone and Mac users I know, more of them use Chromecast than Apple TV, since they're so small and cheap. I bought one so I could cast a specific show on a specific trip to visit family, and now my household has one for every TV, for about the same price as a single Apple TV. We always take one with us when we travel.
  - tomComb 4y ago
    That was my impression too, so I was surprised to read that they are kinda' giving it away by allowing it to be subsumed by Matter. The casting support in Matter will be a mandatory part of the related profile. But, whatever the explanation, I think this is a good thing.
    - horsawlarway 4y ago
      I agree. I see this as heading back towards something like Miracast, which really birthed Chromecast in the first place. That said - I'd really like for genuine screen sharing to still exist, outside of the confines of merely opening an app on the device in question and directing it at a specific URL, while sending user input. That's fine for a lot of uses - but is not really a comparable feature set. So far at least - I don't see that in the matter protocol (I've also not spent a ton of time looking - so if someone knows it's there, please point me at it!)
wordyskeleton 4y ago
Pixel Buds, particularly the new Pixel Buds Pro as well. They are fantastic.
mynameisash 4y ago
> Google Classroom has a lot of users in the ed tech space. As a parent of a kid with ADHD and a Chromebook, I'm appalled at how wide open access to everything on the Internet is on Chromebooks. Trying to keep him on track when there's the constant temptation and ability to alt-tab over to YouTube means my wife and I have to be ever vigilant that he's actually working. No, his ADHD isn't Google's fault, but they're designing and deploying tools for lots of kids who have impulse control issues.
- ajross 4y ago
  There are copious and extensive managed access control technologies available for Chromebooks (and windows, and everything else). I mean, it's true that by default it's just a laptop-running-chrome and can get to anything. But that's not how my kids' schools deploy their Chromebooks, nor is it how we have their personal devices set up. Have you looked at Family Link, which is the default choice for this sort of thing? We've used Bark too. Both are sort of annoying to administer but do their advertised jobs pretty well. I mean, yes, the internet is distracting, but...
- dan_pixelflow 4y ago
  I'd argue that's not really something Google have wrong - parental/education control blockers aren't few and far between.
- lost_tourist 4y ago
  full disclosure: never used a chrome book. That said, isn't there some nanny software available to install and block websites except the ones you whitelist? They should also have ability to set access time schedules so you could let them have a free for all after school time is over.
- mynameisash 4y ago
  Others commenting are, I think, missing the point: Chromebooks are school-issued and locked down to where I can't install software (or they're just not capable of it regardless of locking down). Even if I could, is it the expectation that every parent now has to monitor their kid's school-issued device? This should be handled at the Google or school district level, not at the individual device level. And yes, I use Family Link and Android controls. Not great, but also not applicable to a device over which I have no control.
thebruce87m 4y ago
I wouldn’t consider the pixel a success until they truly fix the emergency call issues[1]. I wouldn’t recommend anyone buys one, and anyone who has one should demand action. [1] https://reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/y039zn/i_compiled_all_the_pixel_911emergency_call/ https://reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/y039zn/i_compiled_... Edit: Downvotes are a little confusing here, are people supposed to accept a phone that can’t make a call when you most need it?
- Ferret7446 4y ago
  I'm curious how exactly would an emergency call fail. How is it different from any other phone call, from the phone OS level?
pragmatic 4y ago
Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call these “recent” though?
CM30 4y ago
You're right, I definitely forgot the Pixel Phone, Chromecast and Chromebooks, all of which seem to be doing well enough to get regular support and a decent userbase.
bkuehl 4y ago
Google Photos is that silent offering that wasn't a big deal initially, but just slowly grew into easily the best option to store your years of smartphone photo memories. I pay for it and will always pay. Chromebooks were also the thing that started out slow, but now are pretty ubiquitous.
agrimonyhal 4y ago
GCP
Fire-Dragon-DoL 4y ago
Google photos started inproving around 1 year ago (maybe two? With covid, it was a blend). Bugs gone and new features popped up.

chasil 4y ago

For the moment, the Pixel phones are the largest family that supports an independent ROM that implements VoLTE. A vast swath of LineageOS supported devices have been retired for this reason, and Pixels are the largest family remaining. Oddly enough, if you want control of a device that minimizes Google's influence, then you probably want a Pixel.

sudosysgen 4y ago
Actually that would be the Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco series.
- chasil 4y ago
  I see 12 devices from Google on the LineageOS 19 announcement page. Motorola/Lenovo has the next largest share, with 10. The eBPF subsystem is described as the main driver for ending so many devices, instead of VoLTE. https://lineageos.org/Changelog-26/ https://lineageos.org/Changelog-26/

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

divbzero 4y ago

I would also count the following as software successes: 2012 - Google Drive 2017 - Google Meet

asimpletune 4y ago
Also google voice
- crummy 4y ago
  I think Voice is great but it seems a bit abandoned from Google
  - guyzero 4y ago
    The feature set has not changed much since launch but it's definitely not abandoned.
    - Fatnino 4y ago
      The feature set has been reduced from the days when voice was still it's own company called grand central. I had more than one phone number but some time after Google came in they said pick one and the rest have to go.
      - asimpletune 4y ago
        You can actually have more than one number still. I do at least. This happens if you add a number by porting your USA cell phone number to google voice. This gives you the option to keep both, although it’s $20 and you have actively elect to make your original google voice number permanent.
aussiesnack 4y ago
> 2012 - Google Drive The Linux version is lagging a tad: https://abevoelker.github.io/how-long-since-google-said-a-google-drive-linux-client-is-coming/ https://abevoelker.github.io/how-long-since-google-said-a-go...
- jeffbee 4y ago
  By a huge margin the two biggest Linux clients of Drive are Android and ChromeOS. "Actually linux" is literally 5+ orders of magnitude smaller. Google maintains and updates 99.999% of Linux drive clients every month.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

marcammann 4y ago

The education space definitely relies on Google (was also big during the pandemic) and the tools are decent. But I was definitely surprised about the mentions of Chromecast and Youtube TV, particularly YouTube TV. All of the cord cutters I talked to opted for Fubo, Hulu or DirectTV. Good to hear it sees adoption. Is there a marketshare analysis that you're aware of?

superfrank 4y ago
Funny, I'm on the other end. I don't know a single person with Fubo or DirectTV and only a few with Hulu for live TV. Pretty much everyone I know has YTTV. According to this link, YTTV passed Hulu Live to become the largest player in the space in mid 2022 https://nscreenmedia.com/why-youtube-tv-is-the-number-1-vmvpd-in-america/ https://nscreenmedia.com/why-youtube-tv-is-the-number-1-vmvp...
dkarl 4y ago
Chromecast has somehow become ubiquitous without attracting much attention. I think even among the iPhone and Mac users I know, more of them use Chromecast than Apple TV, since they're so small and cheap. I bought one so I could cast a specific show on a specific trip to visit family, and now my household has one for every TV, for about the same price as a single Apple TV. We always take one with us when we travel.
- tomComb 4y ago
  That was my impression too, so I was surprised to read that they are kinda' giving it away by allowing it to be subsumed by Matter. The casting support in Matter will be a mandatory part of the related profile. But, whatever the explanation, I think this is a good thing.
  - horsawlarway 4y ago
    I agree. I see this as heading back towards something like Miracast, which really birthed Chromecast in the first place. That said - I'd really like for genuine screen sharing to still exist, outside of the confines of merely opening an app on the device in question and directing it at a specific URL, while sending user input. That's fine for a lot of uses - but is not really a comparable feature set. So far at least - I don't see that in the matter protocol (I've also not spent a ton of time looking - so if someone knows it's there, please point me at it!)

wordyskeleton 4y ago

Pixel Buds, particularly the new Pixel Buds Pro as well. They are fantastic.

mynameisash 4y ago

> Google Classroom has a lot of users in the ed tech space. As a parent of a kid with ADHD and a Chromebook, I'm appalled at how wide open access to everything on the Internet is on Chromebooks. Trying to keep him on track when there's the constant temptation and ability to alt-tab over to YouTube means my wife and I have to be ever vigilant that he's actually working. No, his ADHD isn't Google's fault, but they're designing and deploying tools for lots of kids who have impulse control issues.

ajross 4y ago
There are copious and extensive managed access control technologies available for Chromebooks (and windows, and everything else). I mean, it's true that by default it's just a laptop-running-chrome and can get to anything. But that's not how my kids' schools deploy their Chromebooks, nor is it how we have their personal devices set up. Have you looked at Family Link, which is the default choice for this sort of thing? We've used Bark too. Both are sort of annoying to administer but do their advertised jobs pretty well. I mean, yes, the internet is distracting, but...
dan_pixelflow 4y ago
I'd argue that's not really something Google have wrong - parental/education control blockers aren't few and far between.
lost_tourist 4y ago
full disclosure: never used a chrome book. That said, isn't there some nanny software available to install and block websites except the ones you whitelist? They should also have ability to set access time schedules so you could let them have a free for all after school time is over.
mynameisash 4y ago
Others commenting are, I think, missing the point: Chromebooks are school-issued and locked down to where I can't install software (or they're just not capable of it regardless of locking down). Even if I could, is it the expectation that every parent now has to monitor their kid's school-issued device? This should be handled at the Google or school district level, not at the individual device level. And yes, I use Family Link and Android controls. Not great, but also not applicable to a device over which I have no control.

thebruce87m 4y ago

I wouldn’t consider the pixel a success until they truly fix the emergency call issues[1]. I wouldn’t recommend anyone buys one, and anyone who has one should demand action. [1] https://reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/y039zn/i_compiled_all_the_pixel_911emergency_call/ https://reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/y039zn/i_compiled_... Edit: Downvotes are a little confusing here, are people supposed to accept a phone that can’t make a call when you most need it?

Ferret7446 4y ago
I'm curious how exactly would an emergency call fail. How is it different from any other phone call, from the phone OS level?

pragmatic 4y ago

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to call these “recent” though?

CM30 4y ago

You're right, I definitely forgot the Pixel Phone, Chromecast and Chromebooks, all of which seem to be doing well enough to get regular support and a decent userbase.

bkuehl 4y ago

Google Photos is that silent offering that wasn't a big deal initially, but just slowly grew into easily the best option to store your years of smartphone photo memories. I pay for it and will always pay. Chromebooks were also the thing that started out slow, but now are pretty ubiquitous.

agrimonyhal 4y ago

GCP

Fire-Dragon-DoL 4y ago

Google photos started inproving around 1 year ago (maybe two? With covid, it was a blend). Bugs gone and new features popped up.