The ‘new’ trend of tech Giants
It all started with an apple and then came Microsoft and Google to take a huge bite of that juicy price. You may feel like stop reading but I am just talking about what happened in the last few years of the technology war between these three giants. We all know that the ‘software for hardware’ idea started with Apple. There were no other companies that made both software and hardware which made the market an easy target for Apple. However, in the last 5–6 years Google and Microsoft entered the game with rather small and nervous steps. We first saw Google take on the Iphone with their Android fueled Nexus brand that required them to partner with multiple hardware companies which made their success limited to the success of the hardware. We might not call this exactly Google’s hardware, but it was a huge step.
Then Google took things one step further and came with their Chrome OS which in my opinion pretty much changed the computer market. The operating system which relied solely on the usage of the companies own browser, Google Chrome, was first introduced in 2012 as a low priced alternative for laptops of the time, with less processing power but more utility; and although it was not successful in its first years, it was a great hit as more hardware companies invested in the operating system and most importantly as people started to recognize why they were using their computers for, INTERNET. Seeing that their Chromebooks, as Google calls them, were almost caught up with Apple and Microsoft in sales, Google took things one step further and killed the Nexus brand, replacing it with the new Pixel products. They built their own laptop which went under the name Chromebook Pixel alongside a Pixel phone but we are going to focus more on the laptop. It was a rather unusual thing for Google to do, as the laptop packed top of the line hardware of 2015 that was rather unnecessary for the lightweight Chrome OS and this resulted in a not so great sales percentage. However, this didn’t stop Google and this year, using the Pixel branding, they announced their Pixelbook and 2nd generation of their Pixel Phone. This time around, Google seemed confident and I am sure that their new products will conquer the market in no time. Google is everywhere just like Apple, trying to win the competition with their computers, phones, smart home products and even wireless earbuds.
So where exactly is Microsoft. Well, they are not just watching everything from the backseat hoping that everything will work out fine for them. In fact, Microsoft has been more active in the ‘software for hardware’ game than Google, just not as successful. Believe it or not, Microsoft has had a Hardware Division since 1982 which no one heard the name of until these last couple of years. The first time that Microsoft got some tangible results with this approach was when they introduced their gaming line-up’s first member, Xbox, a gaming console that had a similar software base as the Windows operating system which made games easier to make for both computers and consoles and came with it a bunch of innovations, however, for the sake of the topic let’s just leave it at that. Microsoft, also got into the laptop, or rather 2 in 1, market with their Surface products which even though didn’t get that much of reaction from the public with its 1st generation, held its ground with the introduction of the third version. Seeing this, Microsoft went on with their Surface products releasing a Surface book with a new and inspired look showing that they excelled in making 2 in 1 devices. This year they introduced their Surface laptop that can be called as their first real attempt at an only laptop device but it is still a premium device that was specifically constructed to rival Apple’s MacBooks.
So, what’s the catch? The catch is that as technology develops the needs of companies and customers grow alike. The fact that these companies are going with the ‘software for hardware’ approach should be no surprise when you think about the possibilities of software customizations for hardware. The customer of our age is in need of speed and what better way to achieve this than to introduce a piece of hardware that has been optimized to work in full collaboration with its software to give the customer the greatest of the experiences. Well, what do you think about it? Is this the future or just a new trend that will slowly lose its influence? Let me know in the comments and be sure to follow our publication for more geeky stuff like this. Stay golden…
