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I think the article's author is right and that there could easily be high-end market shift from Android at the margin. On the other hand, Android Wear watches a

• toomuchtodo 12y ago
  +1; The value isn't in the device, it's in the ecosystem. Siri isn't going to integrate with my Nest, Apple Maps isn't going to have a fleet of vehicles driving around to confirm mapping data, and Google Now has the ability to digest information from both existing Google users and the web. Can Apple create a better platform backend faster than Google can meet them at design/UX?
  • psbp 12y ago
    But it's in Google's interest to have all of those benefits available on Apple's platform as well.
    • danieldk 12y ago
      Until iOS's market share starts shrinking to a small percentage of the population, and Google will give them the Windows Phone treatment. And then a subpar Google experience on iOS might push iOS users to Android. It's just a matter of getting the timing right.
      • stephenr 12y ago
        It's just as likely to push people away from Google services. The majority of people using iOS are not financially invested in the google ecosystem - they're more likely to be using the free services like search, email, maps, etc. If a google service doesn't work well on the $700 phone you've just bought that runs 5 years worth of purchased apps, are you really going to abandon all of that because of a free service? No, you're going to find a service that works better on the device. There are very few if any things where google is the only provider or even the only good provider of a service.
    • toomuchtodo 12y ago
      I don't disagree.
  • traek 12y ago
    The thing is, most of Google's services are available on iOS as well. And IMO Google's apps are as good on iOS or even better than they are on Android. You can get the best of both worlds by using iOS with Google's apps and services.
    • lern_too_spel 12y ago
      You can't make every address link open in the superior maps app or every tweet open in the superior twitter app or every link open in the superior browser app. While iOS may have closed the gap in finally having these apps, actually using them is a frustrating experience.
      • threeseed 12y ago
        You will be able to iOS8 and can do so now if you jailbreak.
        • kyrra 12y ago
          How so? From what I'm seeing, you can't change the default app for maps, browser, etc.
    • toomuchtodo 12y ago
      True, but Google needs to keep their own platform as large as possible. What do we say around HN about building your business on someone else's platform?
      • rayiner 12y ago
        > What do we say around HN about building your business on someone else's platform? That the government should regulate those peoples' platforms?
        • deleted 12y ago
          [deleted]
        • 12y ago
  • Zaheer 12y ago
    In terms of the app portion of the ecosystem, iOS apps tend to be much higher quality than Android apps overall.
    • toomuchtodo 12y ago
      Personal preference I guess. I switched from a Galaxy Nexus to an iPhone 5S, and I'm sorely disappointed with app functionality on iOS. Looking forward to jumping back to Android in short order.
      • kyrra 12y ago
        How so specifically? While i like many of the features of android, the UI guidelines google gave to devs for a long time sucked pretty bad. L looks to fix that, but it's taken a long time to get here
    • cageface 12y ago
      This really isn't true for the major players, IMO. Actually I find the Twitter app better on Android, for instance. There's still a gap in the quality of apps made by smaller indie players though. iOS apps are generally better in that segment.
      • 72deluxe 12y ago
        eBay on Android is feeble compared to the iOS one, particularly layout-wise. They are making very very very slow attempts to improve the Android version though, from what I can tell.
  • sounds 12y ago
    Google has traditionally been too attention-starved to stick with a product long enough to get the design/UX perfect. That's not to say Google has never created a truly beautiful product. Rather, the problem seems to be that Google isn't hooked directly to the hardware sales, so hardware design is left to third parties. Except for the handsets Google sells directly. In the end, I think this strategy will win for Google, because there is so much more effort being invested into the creation of Android devices. I'm not saying quantity = quality, but rather that "good enough" trumps "perfect." In the meantime, Xiaomi is a good example of trying to get Android to "perfect" -- and it's very telling that they mod it extensively (in MIUI).
    • dragonwriter 12y ago
      I think a bigger deal than "good enough" trumps "perfect" is that "good" (whether "good enough" or "perfect") isn't objective, its subjective, and more options means you are more likely to find something that meets your preferences.
    • freehunter 12y ago
      Even the handsets Google sells directly are not made or designed by Google. They're merely a rebranded version of other handset makers' phones.
  • threeseed 12y ago
    > Siri isn't going to integrate with my Nest What makes you think Apple won't release a SiriKit in the future ? > Apple Maps isn't going to have a fleet of vehicles driving around to confirm mapping data. Neither does Google in most places. And Apple, Google, Microsoft etc all rely on third party data providers for most of their map data. Surely they would be confirming the data. > Can Apple create a better platform backend faster than Google can meet them at design/UX? The issue is not what Google itself does. It's the ability of Google to influence the ecosystem to come along with it. That has always been the problem.
    • stephenr 12y ago
      Homekit is apples solution to the first point. Siri talks to homekit compatible apps/devices. So in that scenario it's up to nest to support homekit, the way Honeywell are (apparently)
      • mcphage 12y ago
        > Siri talks to homekit compatible apps/devices. So in that scenario it's up to nest to support homekit And Nest is owned by Google, so I'm not sure how likely that is.
        • freehunter 12y ago
          Google supports iOS pretty well. They don't support Windows Phone at all, but I've heard a lot of Android users complaining at various points that iOS gets the app updates quicker than Android does for some Google apps.
          • mcphage 12y ago
            And there's probably a lot of overlap between Apple's customer base and Nest's. I'm not saying they won't do it, I really just mean I don't know how likely it is :-)
    • lern_too_spel 12y ago
  • ssmoot 12y ago
    I have a Nest, and the Nest app on both Android and IOS. I'm not sure what you're getting at with that. Seems the experience is pretty much identical?
    • toomuchtodo 12y ago
      Google is integrating Nest with Google Now this fall ("Google, set the temperature to X degrees") although after thinking about it I realized that Google Now is available on iOS (just not constantly available as it is on Android devices enabled to listen constantly for the cue.
      • ssmoot 12y ago
        Isn't that only the Motorola phones? But thanks. I didn't know about the Nest integration. I'm not sure I personally find it real compelling... but I know plenty of people that seem to really like Google Now. Different strokes I suppose.
        • toomuchtodo 12y ago
          No problem! I'm hoping for Google to roll out Google Now support into the Nest devices directly, so it can pickup my voice throughout my house (thermostat, nest protects) and respond accordingly (a la Startrek).
• m_ke 12y ago
  Apple will be royally screwed if smartwatches catch on. I feel that way for two reasons: 1) Watches are a fashion accessory and one does not fit all. There's no way they'll be able to compete with the variety of devices that will be running android wear. 2) A proper smartwatch will need to be smart and Apple doesn't have the data nor the personnel to compete with Google on the machine learning side.
  • threeseed 12y ago
    We've heard exactly the same thing about the iPod, iPhone, iPad. If you measure being "royally screwed" on market share then sure Apple will never do as well as Android. But if you measure it on actually making money than Apple will be just fine. The companies that are royally screwed are the LG, Samsungs of the world who are having their margins eaten by the Chinese.
    • rtx 12y ago
      Not really, people buying highend LG smart phones don't go and buy a Lenovo.
  • achompas 12y ago
    (1) Counterpoint: Apple has much better taste than other OEMs. They've hired designers from Burberry and Nike to assist with wearable design. Design is a core competency for Apple. Others can't claim the same thing. (2) More data gets you a couple of percentage points on accuracy. It doesn't make Google Now infinitely better in perpetuity than Apple's offering (Siri + whatever is next). Apple is also investing heavily in building out Siri/Maps/NLP.
    • deong 12y ago
      More data gets you way more than that, but it's not just the data anyway. Google has the personnel who are able to make use of that data. This isn't the kind of stuff you can easily outsource, you need a superb research team. (Source: I'm a professor in machine learning). As far as anyone knows, Apple doesn't have one. They do fantastic product research, and it shows, but they're at least a decade behind the knowledge contained inside of Google, and increasingly, Facebook, Baidu, and a few others. And worse than that, the gap is widening, not shrinking.
• rayiner 12y ago
  Is Google Voice Search really better than Siri? It seems much less able to handle things like followup or anything that requires context. "OK Google" is much more likely to just give me a web search, while my wife's iPhone seems to more often give helpful spoken results.
  • psbp 12y ago
    In my limited use of both, Google is better at voice recognition. I'm not sure why they haven't built a true siri competitor.
    • chetanahuja 12y ago
      What would constitute a "true Siri competitor"? Currently, on my MotoX, I can do all common tasks like calendar entries, reminders, calling people. emails, text messaging, searching for information etc. etc. The kickers here are: I can do all this WITHOUT TOUCHING the device. I do all this in my Indian accented English (Siri is useless to me and my entire extended family for this reason alone). This device came out more than a year ago. I bought this device for half the price of an iPhone 5s unlocked. The real question is, can Apple come up with a real Google Now competitor, deeply integrated with their devices, before this window of opportunity in the wearable devices blows by them.
      • 72deluxe 12y ago
        Out of interest, is it quicker to do these things by voice than just using the phone with your hands? I always try texting by voice and when it gets it wrong (often!) I find myself just using the phone normally and am reluctant to use the voice features again. Does anyone else have this experience?
        • saturdaysaint 12y ago
          I've been using Siri for years. Texting is occasionally hit or miss (although simple things like "On my way" or "Be there in 15" are reliable), but there are a ton of things that are way quicker than typing (and completely reliable). "Directions home", "Movies playing near me","Open app X","What was the last Tigers score","Call Amy",most Google searches... Maybe it's my flat midwestern accent, but I find that Siri gets it right almost all the time with these things, and I find it way more natural and fast than hunting for an app icon, especially while driving/walking/biking.