Forget iPhone vs Android, the next great battle is between Google and Amazon over the new wave of AI computing
Every new era of computing has had its hallmark rivalry. IBM versus Digital.Apple versus IBM. Mac versus Windows. iPhone versus Android.
Now a new wave of computing is upon us.And the chances are this generation's big fight will be between Google and Amazon.
Google fired the next round of volleys on Wednes day with a blitz of hardware announcements.
The new products have a common thread: Google Assistant, the search giant's voice-based artificial intelligence technology . Google's original Pixel phones, which it launched last year, were the first to have Assistant baked in, much like Apple's Siri. The Home smart speaker, which Google also released a year ago, is built around Assistant; talking to the device is the primary way to inter act with it. Last week, Amazon unveiled a barrage of Alexa powered hardware, including three new Echo smart speakers, a pair of accessories, and a new Fire TV-streaming box
The voice-assistant battle, which is playing out through the new hardware, is just one front in a wider war between Amazon and Google. The companies already compete directly in cloud computing. Amazon has refused to carry Google's Chromecast streaming sticks. It has developed its own version of Android for its tablets and Fire TV devices that doesn't link to Google's Play app store. And Google is trying to displace Amazon as the starting point for online shopping. But Alexa versus Assistant is perhaps the companies' most visible battle and possibly the most consequential.
For Amazon, Alexa has basically unlimited upside. If Alexa and its Echo smart speakers don't catch on with a mainstream audience, Amazon can pull the cord and go back to being an enormously successful retailer. But if they do become hits, they're likely to reinforce Amazon's position as the go-to place to shop, since one of Alexa's key features is making it easy to buy stuff from Amazon.
That direct connection between Alexa and Amazon's web store poses a threat to Google.Many consumers are already turning to Amazon first when searching for products to buy, rather than using Google's search engine. Advertisers are catching on and starting to shift their ad dollars toward Amazon and away from Google.
That's a big problem for Google, since ads are the company's bread and butter.
Forget iPhone vs Android, the next great battle is between Google and Amazon over the new wave of AI computing
Every new era of computing has had its hallmark rivalry. IBM versus Digital.Apple versus IBM. Mac versus Windows. iPhone versus Android.
Now a new wave of computing is upon us.And the chances are this generation's big fight will be between Google and Amazon.
Google fired the next round of volleys on Wednes day with a blitz of hardware announcements.
The new products have a common thread: Google Assistant, the search giant's voice-based artificial intelligence technology . Google's original Pixel phones, which it launched last year, were the first to have Assistant baked in, much like Apple's Siri. The Home smart speaker, which Google also released a year ago, is built around Assistant; talking to the device is the primary way to inter act with it. Last week, Amazon unveiled a barrage of Alexa powered hardware, including three new Echo smart speakers, a pair of accessories, and a new Fire TV-streaming box
The voice-assistant battle, which is playing out through the new hardware, is just one front in a wider war between Amazon and Google. The companies already compete directly in cloud computing. Amazon has refused to carry Google's Chromecast streaming sticks. It has developed its own version of Android for its tablets and Fire TV devices that doesn't link to Google's Play app store. And Google is trying to displace Amazon as the starting point for online shopping. But Alexa versus Assistant is perhaps the companies' most visible battle and possibly the most consequential.
For Amazon, Alexa has basically unlimited upside. If Alexa and its Echo smart speakers don't catch on with a mainstream audience, Amazon can pull the cord and go back to being an enormously successful retailer. But if they do become hits, they're likely to reinforce Amazon's position as the go-to place to shop, since one of Alexa's key features is making it easy to buy stuff from Amazon.
That direct connection between Alexa and Amazon's web store poses a threat to Google.Many consumers are already turning to Amazon first when searching for products to buy, rather than using Google's search engine. Advertisers are catching on and starting to shift their ad dollars toward Amazon and away from Google.
That's a big problem for Google, since ads are the company's bread and butter.
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