Google's Osterloh Looks To Get Jump on Apple With Earlier Launch

With its hardware event on Tuesday, Alphabet's Google is trying to outshine Apple's annual iPhone launch -- and is letting longtime executive Rick Osterloh take center stage. Bloomberg: Osterloh, the former president of Motorola who joined Google in 2016, will helm the first major product launch after the company this year unified under his leadership the teams developing hardware and the Android operating system. The reorganization expanded Osterloh's influence in the company and signaled that Google intends to compete in hardware for the long term.

In a sign of a more aggressive push into consumer devices, Google moved up its annual flagship Pixel smartphone launch to August from October, preempting the next Apple. iPhone debut and seizing attention during a typically quiet period for the industry. By holding its hardware showcase a month ahead of the iPhone maker's largest annual event, Google is 'frontrunning Apple and also making a statement that we are likely way ahead of what Apple will show for iPhone 16 at least,' said Mandeep Singh, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

Google has at least a six-month head start on Apple, which has invested less in AI over the years than some of its Big Tech peers, he added. Google's strategy -- tying together the development of hardware, software and services -- carries echoes of Apple's successful approach to designing devices. Yet, as Osterloh seeks to capitalize on the opportunity presented by AI, he faces a perennial challenge for Google: bringing the fight to Apple without threatening key relationships with hardware giants such as Xiaomi that rely on the Android operating system.

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