For the most part, you’re either team Apple or team Samsung; however, Google has joined the competition. With the company’s latest advancement in self-driving cars, universal wifi and Google VR, they’ve brought in a smartphone called Pixel.
Ok Google, what’s this all about? It all comes down to this tech ecosystem that Google has been developing in recent years. The Pixel, as well as the Google Home, was created as their binding device between all the hardware they’ve developed as of now.
The ecosystem:
Google Assistant: In vague terms, this is Google’s version of Siri. It’s the OK Google software that’s redefining what it means to “just Google it”. The assistant responds to voice activation beginning with the user saying, “OK Google”. Pixel is the first device to have the OK Google software directly integrated into it’s platform, meaning that the feature has been expanded to create incredible features unique to the Google Phone. For instance, the user can find certain images on their phone, translate on the go, and ask for answers simply through voice command.
Google Home: If your familiar with the Amazon Echo, you’ll know just how the Google Home works. Except instead of Alexa, Google Assistant is built in to allow users to play music from YouTube or Spotify and to also stream audio from Netflix or videos from Hulu. The design has a touch sensitive panel to replace buttons and swappable bases if you want a color change. It’s a smart home center that can control lights, kitchen appliances, the Tele, and other connected devices.
Chromecast, Google Wifi home router, Daydream VR headset, Google Cardboard, and the list goes on. The previous Google that consisted of developing software- our universal search engine, has grown into an ever encompassing tech company. Only recently has Google become a competitor for hardware companies, but for Apple specifically.
Pixel → iPhone
Chromecast → Apple TV
Google Assistant → Siri
This is HUGE for Google. Not only are they rolling with giant tech companies like Apple and Samsung, they’re competing with some of their own manufacturing partners. Google has moved beyond the bare, white search box and has decided to expand into a hardware company. After all, the company wants to start creating it’s own products instead of leaving all the work to their partners. Plus, why would they want a whole future ahead of the company to fall into the hands of their hardware partners? And so, they’ve released this grand interconnected ecosystem of hardware, at the center of which is the Pixel phone and Google Home speaker.
Scott Huffman, VP of engineering for the Google Assistant, believes these products, specifically the Assistant, can change the paradigm of computing from being just input/output to being a conversation.
The reason why Pixel is an ultimate game-changer, especially in the smartphone industry, is because it connects that gap between iPhone and Android. A Quick Switch Adapter allows the user to transfer your contacts, photos, music, calendar events and more onto the Pixel from your previous phone, regardless of whether it was an iPhone or an Android.
There we have it. Google, a newbie tech giant has come into play: Fee fi fo fum, watch out Apple, the Pixel has come!