No. 2423
October 10th, 2016

Minutive, Vol. 26: Google’s Hardware Announcement, Local Guides, and More.

It’s Official: Google Is the New Apple

BY JUSTIN BARISO
I could not have a more diametrically-opposed take on Google’s event. The strategy they’re pursuing is their only way forward (see next article), and the products they released all felt “me-too.” But you’d have to call it a successful event from a PR standpoint due to the proliferation of surface-level articles like this one.

Google and the Limits of Strategy

BY BEN THOMPSON
A deeper-level take was offered by Ben Thompson, who calls Google the “bizarro-Apple,” rightly pointing out that it has a “business-model problem:” “where do the ads go?” Whether Google can parlay their fundamental AI advantage into compelling hardware products widely adopted by consumers remains a very open question.

Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by the creators of Apple’s Siri

BY MATTHEW PANZARINO
Samsung sees the writing on the wall with respect to its position in Google’s long-term play–the market for premium Android hardware products (with high-end voice assistants) just got a lot more crowded. The only thing surprising about this acquisition is that it took as long as it did.

Four years and one embarrassment later, Apple Maps is genuinely worthy of challenging Google Maps
BY JEFF DUNN

An excellent summary of the compelling updates to Apple Maps in iOS 10. Whether it exceeds Google Maps is largely irrelevant–iPhone users no longer have a good reason to switch away from the default option.

Exclusive: New Contributions tab for Local Guides
BY CORRIE D

The extent to which Google has been able to bribe ordinary people into maintaining the quality of its local dataset via low-expense challenges like this is pretty remarkable, and largely under the radar.

TripAdvisor CEO Kaufer Defiantly Vows to Stay Committed to Instant Booking

BY DENNIS SCHAAL
It’s the only chance TripAdvisor has in continuing to be a key long-term player in the Apple search ecosystem, and keep its users from fleeing to the very competitive Google Hotel Finder.

Slightly Off-Topic:
How Two Companies Hooked Customers on Products They Rarely Use

BY NIR EYAL
Smart commentary on the value of content and community in retaining customers in industries with long re-use and re-purchase cycles.