215 Nian Zuoyu 21 Hardware , Where did Google end up ？

source ： Snow leopard finance and Economics （ID：xuebaocaijingshe） author ： Yan Xuegong

Do a paste a Google “ Family bucket ”, Keep on adding new people .

not long ago , Google held one of the most “ hard ” Of I/O Google Developers Conference , One breath preview of smart phones 、 watch 、 The headset 、 A range of hardware such as tablet computers , The spotlight has even overshadowed the ace product Android 13 Update .

among , Although Google glasses only occupies more than one minute of the conference , But it soon became the focus of the conversation . In Google's introduction video , Users only need to wear glasses , The dialogue can be translated in real time , And loaded on the lens in the form of subtitles .

The marginal and weak hardware in Google's business segment has become I/O The protagonist of the conference , It's not surprising . This is one of the most powerful technology giants in the world ,15 Years have passed 21 Hardware , But he still refuses to give up . only 2010-2014 year , Its products are all over mobile phones 、 The tablet 、 Smart home 、 Wearable devices and other fields .

Google has been defeated and defeated repeatedly , Is it still possible to change your life against the sky ？

01 The king of search , Hardware “ Grave ”

It has the largest search engine in the world 、 Cover super 30 Google with billion Android users , It happened that I fell into innumerable stumbles in the hardware .

This time I/O An updated wireless headset will be released at the conference , The market performance is dismal . According to the Counterpoint Research data ,2021 year , Apple has an absolute advantage in the wireless headset market , Market share 26%, It is larger than the combined share of the second to fifth places . Google is lower than the eighth （3%） The achievement of , Counted to “Others” The list of .

（2021 Market share of major manufacturers of real wireless earphones in , Picture source ：Counterpoint Research）

It has also been listed in the major lists for many years “Others” And Pixel Series of mobile phone , Even if Pixel 6 It is already the best-selling mobile phone in Google .

besides , Google has also launched tablet computers 、 laptop 、 TV, etc , None of them did not earn enough eyeballs at the beginning of listing , But in the end, it is impossible to escape the fate of a meteor . Google, which is the best in the search field , Hardware “ Grave ”.

According to incomplete statistics of snow leopard financial agency , from 2007 So far this year , Google failed 21 Hardware , Among them, there are consumer electronics and smart home , There are also specialized for B Hardware developed at the end , Among the list of premature deaths, there is no lack of Google glasses, which once made a sensation 、Nexus mobile phone 、 Google router and other star products .

It will be “ Killed in battle ” Of , Yes, there are already 7 Google with a history of years OnHub Router , This is Google's longest - lived product for C End user hardware .2022 year 12 month 19 Japan , Google will stop supporting its software , Although we can still provide WiFi The signal , But users can't go through Google Home（ Smart home control software ） Manage it , Also cannot update and add WiFi equipment , Equivalent to exist in name only .

The shortest lifetime of Google's hardware family Nexus Q, Only survived less than 5 Months .Nexus Q It is a home control center hardware that can control Android devices and TVs ,2012 year 6 Month in I/O Appear at the meeting , It is regarded as a signal for Google to enter the smart home . But that year 11 At the beginning of , Google quietly removed it from its official website .

The most lamentable product is Google glasses .2012 year 4 month , Google releases based on AR Technology Google glasses , And claimed it was a wearable smart phone , Users can take photos through voice commands 、 Send a message 、 Make a phone call, etc . This sci-fi product is all the rage , From members of the British royal family to Hollywood stars , A lot of fans .

（ Google co-founder brin shows off Google glasses ）

But after the real listing , Google glasses up to 1999 The selling price of dollars quickly persuaded a wave of consumers , fever 、 Short endurance 、 Poor appearance and other problems have also been criticized .

facebook CEO Zuckerberg once questioned in front of brin , How to wear Google glasses does not look so awkward , Brin kept silent about this . Less than 3 After year , The first generation of Google glasses announced in the voice of doubt “ Death ”.2019 year , Google has also launched a campaign against B End of Google glasses , But this time only survived 1 More years .

Back offline after two years I/O At the conference , Many failed projects in the past “ revive ”. These include 2019 Tablet computers that exited the market in ,7 Google glasses that left the stage years ago .

“ Indifference to ” Frequent Google , Why do you persist in hardware ？

02 Hardware that can't be bypassed

The profits of real gold and silver are like black holes , It has an eternal attraction to enterprises .

Apple, the world's largest market capitalization, has proved the great potential of the hardware market . According to the 2022 Fiscal second quarter （ By 2022 year 3 month 26 Japan ） Performance report , rely on iPhone 13 Hot sale of , Apple's revenue grew year on year 9% to 973 Billion dollars , Including mobile phone 、 Hardware, including computers, has brought nearly 80% of Apple's revenue .

by comparison , Google, whose advertising revenue accounts for 80% , This year, Q1 Revenue growth reached the lowest level in two years . To expand revenue sources other than advertising , Hardware is the race track that Google must step into . Release mobile phone 、 Tablet computers and other consumer hardware products with broad market , At least for now, it can help Google to enrich its money .

What's more? , Google, which got the tickets of the last era with Android , We also need to rely on hardware to occupy a place in the future .

stay 2016 Google's new product launch in the fall of , Google CEO Sandar · Pichai (Sundar Pichai) Established AI First The strategy of , Key bet AI. At that conference , Google has released mobile phones intensively 、 Intelligent speakers 、 TV box and other hardware .6 Today, years later , This process is obviously accelerated . In Pichai's speech ,AI The word appears more than 20 Time .

And bearing AI Landing hardware , May be the key to the future .

One side , The data is feeding AI Important raw materials for , The hardware is the entrance to obtain massive data , This just meets Google's thirst for data . Especially in the second half of the mobile Internet era , Including apple 、 Many companies, including Xiaomi, have adopted intelligent hardware to support the whole family , Forming a data island , Google clearly doesn't want to give up on this battlefield .

On the other hand , Today, with the growing awareness of users' privacy , The giants need to be more compliant 、 Secure means of data collection , Making hardware in person can avoid some data infringement problems . In this year , Google has also been sued by many states in the United States for violating users' privacy , And reached a $100 million settlement .

Once the hardware is ready , Google, which has made great achievements in software , It is expected to form a more perfect software and hardware integration ecosystem . Besides , Hardware is also a testing ground for Google to verify new technologies .

let me put it another way , Google can't move forward without hardware . But money 、 people 、 Google, which has no shortage of Technology , Why many attempts fail ？

03 Repeatedly war and defeated

On the way to hardware , Google has at least tried to cooperate 、 M & A and self research .

2010 year , Google launched Nexus brand , It has mobile phones 、 The tablet 、 Laptop and other products , This brand is also seen as Google's first step towards consumer hardware . At this stage , Google adopts OEM mode , And HTC、 samsung 、LG And so on .

OEM mode is light on assets 、 Outstanding advantages of low risk , But the short board is also obvious . At that time, Google intended to use mobile phones to show the original Android system , They don't pay much attention to sales , The foundry has not used the most advanced technology Nexus On , Resulting in poor sales .

Soon , Google strides into hardware , Enter the second stage of acquisition .

2011 year , Google is funding 125 Billion dollars for Motorola , But failed to launch a masterpiece .3 After year , Google 29 Motorola was sold to Lenovo for $billion .

2014 year , Google is spending again 32 Billion dollars , Acquisition of smart home star Unicorn company Nest. But because of Nest Experienced the loss of personnel including the founder , The new product was launched one year after the acquisition , Google, who got up early to catch a late episode, missed the first chance , Amazon has seized the smart home entrance .2018 year , Google will Nest Integrated into the family services business .

thereafter , Google also used 11 Billion dollars 、21 A hundred million dollars , Acquired HTC The R & D and design department and Fitbit company , Trying to strengthen Pixel Mobile phone and wearable device business . But so far , These two areas of Google are still at the end of the crane .

Compared with OEM mode , The advantage of acquisition is that it is easier to control the product quality , At the same time, avoid killing each other with Android mobile phone manufacturers . But due to poor management , Google has not combined its strengths with the advantages of the acquired company , As a result, tens of billions of dollars of investment has been lost .

In addition to OEM and acquisition , Google has also tried to develop its own hardware .

2010 year , Google parent Alphabet Set up a new technology R & D department Google X, Except co founders and CEO And a few core executives , No one knows the specific projects of the Department . Popular Google glasses , From Google X.

But because of Google X Focus on cutting-edge and revolutionary projects , Its products are not only very expensive , And it has not been fully investigated by consumers before being put into the market , The function is not polished .

The appearance is wonderful 、 subject to fever 、 Google glasses with only one hour of endurance , It is generally considered to be an immature product coming out of the laboratory . It's called “ The first social communication media player ”Nexus Q Cost as much as 299 dollar , It was a competitive product at that time Apple TV Of 3 times . This is because Nexus Q Almost all the parts are produced in the factory near Google's California headquarters , High production costs are ultimately passed on to the selling price , And apple has been relying on labor cost cheap fruit chain OEM .

It's not hard to see. , I have been working hard on the hardware 15 year , In grasping the market demand 、 Integration of supply chain and other key issues , Google still hasn't figured out the way . And the wide net playing method , It is not suitable for heavy investment 、 Hardware with complex production process , On the contrary, it is easy to be scattered by power 、 Management fails due to maladjustment .

If the above problems cannot be solved , This time, Google and its hardware army are making a comeback , I am afraid we will still repeat the mistakes of the past . When the , Google's hardware “ Grave ” in , Several new monuments will be added .