Just imagine, all of your electronics have that iconic Google brand placed on its surface. Your speakers, laptops, phones, and even smartwatches all seamlessly sync with each other, giving Google more power and giving you less hassle. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

  Google has been creating its own ecosystem for the past couple of years. What is an ecosystem? In Google’s circumstance, an ecosystem is a variety of devices from different platforms created by the same brand. This helps create revenue for the brand and keeps customers reliant on their services.

   But why exactly does Google want its own ecosystem? Well for one, it would mean that more people would be using their services, which in return, boosts their revenue and increases their power as a company. And, as a result, this persuades people into buying their products exclusively instead of choosing other brands.

  When asked about his opinion on why Google’s products on different platforms of technology, PVHS student Robert Bent, said, “They know money is to be made. Having an ecosystem allows them to have control over the content and aspects of people’s lives, claiming it could make it easier. Doing this, they can target ads better and try to improve people’s lives even further.”

  Having control over content and personalizing ads for their consumers is an effective way to boost their revenue. This also gives them an extensive amount of information about their audience, which in return, gives them a guide on what their AI should focus on. AI, or artificial intelligence, is created by companies to help their audience with search results, services, recommendations based on a user’s interests, etc.

  Bent also said, “Google’s ambitions are completely realistic, as they already have a good ecosystem set up over time. Google has an unprecedented amount of computing power that rivals Amazon and Apple. On top of that, they make money from subscriptions such as YouTube TV and Google Play Music and so on.”

  This statement provides a unique insight on a platform Google has had a dominance in. Their online services have an unimaginable amount of users. Millions of people watch Youtube, use Google Docs, and use their OS (operating software) on virtually every Android phone. An OS is the platform devices run on. Usually, Android phones use Google’s software on their phones and add their own modifications.

  Currently, Google has created devices for almost every platform from smartphones to virtual reality. Some of their most notable devices are their Pixel phones, Chromebooks, and Home speakers. However, Google is receiving mixed feedback from their devices. While their Chromebooks are selling, their Pixelbooks are flopping horribly. Their Pixel phones may have decent sales, but their Pixel buds are selling weakly. This is the result of their late entry.

  In comparison to Samsung and Apple, they are mediocre at best. Apple’s devices appear all around the world, while Samsung has dominated the Android market. Apple is even number one in the smartwatch department, while Google hasn’t even announced their first smartwatch.

  However, while the idea of their ecosystem could have positive effects on their economical revenue and power, there are setbacks with such ambitions. For one, dabbling in all of these platforms at such a late stage is risky because companies like Apple have cemented their user base and make it difficult for customers to change sides.

  One of the biggest failures that Google has had was attempting to produce the Google Glasses. These glasses had innovative technology, but their commercial success was dreadful because of two major complaints. First, the glasses had a camera which allowed the user to record and take pictures of their surroundings, which resulted in public fear that privacy would be afflicted. Secondly, there were concerns that the glasses would distract people while driving and could increase accident rates.

  Surprisingly, one of the platforms they haven’t touched is smartwatches. This seems odd considering that Wear OS, the software android smartwatches run on, was made by Google. It would only make sense that they would have their own watch to complement the pixel phone, but fear of failure could be the issue.

  Google’s ambitions may seem ludicrous, but if their devices are efficient and they advertise their products correctly, they could easily become a fierce competitor against Amazon, Samsung, and even Apple. This would help regulate the economic dominance these companies have obtained and would give customers a more variety of choices.