Google's New Phones, Speakers Nod to Hardware Hopes
October 15 2019 - 11:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Rob Copeland
Google showed off a renewed line of smartphones, wireless
earbuds and smart speakers in its latest attempt to recharge a
lagging segment of its business.
The products, shown during a showcase in New York Tuesday, run
the gamut in price and function, from a flagship phone armed with
radar to sense a user nearby to a lower-price version of Google's
laptop-tablet hybrid. They show Google placing its chips across the
board, hoping for more hits to pair with its popular Home smart
speakers.
The narrative, as offered onstage by Google hardware chief Rick
Osterloh: "The devices aren't the center of the system -- you
are."
Though Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., is a dominant force in
online search and advertising, it occupies a much weaker position
in hardware among its tech peers. Despite the position, Google is
willing to spend big on building the business in addition to other
nascent ventures.
In the smartphone market, Google trails Apple Inc. and Samsung
Electronics Co., both of which have dominated shipments in the U.S.
and world-wide in recent years. Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc.,
and Facebook Inc. have also ramped up spending in recent years on
new consumer products.
On an earnings call earlier this year, Google Chief Executive
Sundar Pichai blamed disappointing sales of last year's Pixel phone
for helping drag overall company results. The Pixel line has 5%
market share in the U.S., according to researcher Strategy
Analytics, and an even smaller share abroad.
The previous Pixel model earned strong reviews, if not sales,
for its camera and streamlined design. This year's Pixel 4 model
adds the usual photography enhancements, particularly for lowlight
snapshots, and includes a bit of the company's typical whimsy. One
new color is called "Oh So Orange." The phone starts at $799, the
same as last year, and goes on sale this month.
On stage, Google executives talked up technology called "Soli,"
a motion-sensing radar addition to the front of the Pixel phone. A
promotional video showed a customer silencing a call by waving her
hand at the screen.
A new generation of wireless earbuds next year, called the
Google Pixel Buds, will be able to pair with a device as distant as
the far end of a football field.
While competitors have some similar features, Google pitches its
ability to link devices and functionality across products including
Nest, a maker of internet-connected home electronics that the
company bought for $3.2 billion in 2014. The popular Google Home
Mini was renamed Tuesday the Nest Mini.
Such acquisitions may receive additional scrutiny in the wake of
recently announced federal and state antitrust investigations into
Google's business. Google overhauled its Washington lobbying
operation earlier this year and has pushed the message that its
products increase consumer choice. In a July securities filing,
Alphabet said it continues to engage with regulators world-wide
regarding competition matters.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 15, 2019 11:47 ET (15:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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