It’s unhelpful to look at a hot category and say Google/Apple etc ‘have to do that’. They might do it just because it’s hot. More likely, it needs to fit into their strategy and capabilities. And their strategies are very different. They climb mountains from different sides.
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Amazon has a very clear strategic reason to put a lot of money into TV - exclusive content drives Prime and Prime has clear ROI and is strategically core. None of that applies to Google, Apple or Facebook- they have no subscription to push (or that you could cancel).
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Google and Amazon are reach companies and Amazon (like FB) have major platform envy: they don’t have an endpoint. Hence Echo and Home are big deals. But Apple isn’t a reach company. HomePod is an optional accessory that (like all accessories) helps retention - it’s not strategic.
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The Alexa threat to Google is reach for voice search. It matters. The Alexa threat to Apple is that HomeKit is less effective in driving iPhone retention. That matters, yes, but how much?
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Replying to @benedictevans
Is voice not also a threat to Apple? This is a category that Apple owned (Siri) and is now falling behind quickly to both Amazon and Google.
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Replying to @chr1sa @benedictevans
Seems shortsighted to say that HomePod isn’t strategic. Poorly conceived? Sure. But not strategic? Do you think Amazon has a long game in voice hardware?
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Replying to @walkerdavide @chr1sa
It’s a well-conceived Apple product. It would make no sense as an Amazon product, but then the Echo would make no sense as an Apple product. These companies have different needs.
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Benedict, I hear ya. But in the end Apple needs and Amazon needs will be precisely the same. Voice is the path that will define it.
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