Herbivore2

Google's mortal threat isn't Apple. It's actually Amazon that poses a far greater threat. With Amazon dominating e-commerce and continuing to gain marketshare, Google becomes ever more dependent on the online retailer. All it would take to decimate Google's ad revenues would be for Amazon to decide they no longer need Google search. Google is trouble anyhow as more and more Amazon's sales move to their own smartphone app anyhow. It is actually far more of a hassle to search the web for a product and then be directed to Amazon rather than going to the Amazon app in the first place. While other companies may beat Amazon on price, they don't offer free 2 day shipping as a member. They also don't offer Amazon's media library as a prime member and no one makes a voice assistant comparable to Alexa. And Google is making a half-hearted effort to copy it with Google Home. It's just far easier to just launch the Amazon app, find the product and press one click. Easy and done with the item on my doorstep in 2 days. There is no need for Google search. 

Google needs to move smartphone users back to text entered web based search, but failing. And they are failing miserably, especially on iOS where much of the potential revenue base is. 

Google's AI will fail as their search based Ad revenues dry up. Amazon doesn't need Google's AI algorithms to determine consumer preferences as they have their own hard numbers of the sales data. Google desperately needs someone, anyone to establish real competition for Amazon. Since Bezos is laser focused and continuing to win greater amounts of online sales, Google is in major trouble. 

Samsung will usurp Android. It's inevitable as Amazon eviscerates Google. It's only a matter of time now. 

It didn't have to end this way. Google was too afraid to turn to the direct sales model of actually charging for Android, maps, etc. They saw everything through the prism of selling advertisements to their user base. They never saw anyone swooping in and capturing that user base directly and with direct access to the userbase, Google as the "middleman" is literally being cut out of the deal. 

Amazon has captured the userbase that conducts most of the online purchases. The terrifying aspect for Google is that Amazon no longer needs to pay for search ads. It's actually been some time since I made an Amazon purchase through Google search.

That's a serious problem for Google going forward.

Getting their spyware installed on iOS won't change the situation they're in. And if they haven't figured that one out, their best and brightest are failing spectacularly, far more so than would appear to the public and many of the Google apologists who regularly visit this forum. 

It's really now only a matter of time before the company fails in substantial fashion. They have only a single major revenue stream and unable to diversify. Things are looking dire. They are rapidly running out of time. 

Google makes no money on Android phones sold in China. That's somehow a good thing?

iOS development isn't going to stop. It is still a lucrative development platform. 

Marketshare matters if there is a specific goal in mind but the for low and mid range makers there is little profit and that won't change for the foreseeable future. Amazon is sacrificing profits for marketshare, but they are now the dominant e-commerce retailer and have a goal in mind unlike Xiaomi and Huawei. 

Apple still commands the lion's share of profits. That hasn't changed and allowing the company to do things others simply cannot. 

I frankly could care less about marketshare for smartphones. Profits matter at this point. And Apple still has a number of features to add to their mobile devices which includes the watch. 

Unlike the others, Apple has the capital to develop the hardware to make it all happen. Their secretive nature makes it difficult to assess what's coming, but the company isn't standing still. 

Samsung is barely keeping up. I would not count on them doing so for the long term as they do not have the same amount of available capital that Apple does to plow back into R&D. 

With Apple's assistance, TSMC is moving to 7 nm faster than anyone else in the industry and that includes Intel. Xiaomi and Huawei are all going to be stranded. It's really just a matter of time. 

There will be a place for AR and VR, but it will be a small market. 

The technology isn't fully developed for adoption by the masses. Wearing a large set of goggles with a phone attached and poor battery life isn't what most people are willing to put up with. 

Perhaps a pair of designer glasses or sunglasses with micro projectors built into the lenses and a micro radio in the frame itself that connects to a mobile device wirelessly and offers 12 hours of battery life and I would say the technology is ready for prime time. 

Not with the current designs, costs and sacrifices. I am not interested and I am rather fond of technology. 

And with Android there will be ads splashed all over a person's visual fields. 

No thanks. 

I am far more interested in an Apple Watch with a built in LTE radio. 

What's the whole thing about the curved screen? OLED screens can be built out as flat screens. The contrast is superior to conventional LCD and the panel consumes much less energy when the background is black. 

OLED allows for curved screens, but Apple could easily build them as flat screen devices. 

A foldable phone that enlarges into a large screen device would be of great utility. Samsung will be introducing such devices. Apple absolutely needs to be doing something similar. 

No matter the screen or hardware, I would never purchase an Android device but I might purchase Samsung hardware running Tizen. 

Walmart is out of touch here. I use one click on Amazon and I will use Apple Pay if available at a brick and mortar store. I don't shop Walmart. The quality of their merchandise is poor and the selection is limited unlike Amazon. 

Walmart should have looked at the demographics of their own shoppers before going forward. It is quite doubtful that many of their shoppers will even be interested in downloading the Walmart app.