Amazon vs. Google - the big #CES battle

Someone commenting my first CES summary just asked me: "But didn't you forget THE battle, Amazon Alexa vs. Hey Google?"

He is right. There was no way evading the huge advertisement billboards of Google everywhere in the city. Google people in white costumes where running around at the LVCC, and Google was demonstrating all of its smart home gadgets.

But do you remember Shania Twain's song from 1997?

"OK. So you've got a car. That don't impress me much."

Somehow we already knew all of Google's smart things. A speaker, a personal assistant, a door lock - not so impressive. So why the big 2019 show around that stuff?

To understand the fight between Amazon and Google, we have to consider what they are fighting for.

The core of Amazon's empire is controlling the marketplace. And to make the marketplace as strong as possible, they try to control all the possible entry points. Kindle, Fire, Prime, Alexa, Flex, Delivery and the Amazon branded products are there just for this reason - keeping control on the shopping experience of its customers.

For Google, the situation seems similar, but only at first glance. It is completely different. Google's core is controlling the information gaining - understanding best what the user wants when and where. So it has to be whereever the customer touch points with the digital ecosystem are. Introducing Android "for free" (...) was a smart move as people started migrating from their desktops to the handheld devices. But the next move is at the front door.

Voice assistants will take over the customer touch point from the smartphone.

After trying out smart devices that could directly interact with the user - which is complex and confusing - we will see a more centralized approach in future. A conversational voice assistant will be the single point of contact, and it will make our dish washer run as we want it. So smart device makers don't have to worry about developing their own voice solution.

But this is a game that won't work with many players. You really don't want Alexa and Hey Google both at your home, competing about your attention. "Hey Google, please ask Alexa to close the window...".

Where is Apple in this game? Home Kit had a really bumpy and very slow start, but the device range is growing. Let's wait for CES 2020 whether they can gain momentum or not.

#Google #Amazon #Alexa #HeyGoogle #Apple #SmartHome #CES #HomeKit #GettingDigitalDone