It seems like all tech companies can do this year is talk about AI and how they're going to use it to make their products and services better. Samsung really took the lead on this one for the smartphone manufacturers. Galaxy AI brought to the forefront AI features for smartphones like never before.
Probably not content with Samsung literally defining what smartphone AI can be for Android devices, Google has made a huge internal shift to focus on artificial intelligence across all of its products, both software and hardware.
Google is combining most teams under a single banner to focus on AI
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has confirmed major internal reorganizations today. A new team called “Platform and Devices” has been created that will be responsible for all of Android and Chrome, all Google Pixel hardware products, Google Photos, ChromeOS, and other software. Rich Osterloh, who was the SVP of devices and services before, will lead this team.
Osterloh points out that AI is the reason for this substantial change, that it will enable the company to do “full-stack innovation when that's necessary.” The idea is simple enough. By having all of these core teams under one single leader with one single objective, Google can create and get new experiences out the door quickly, and the enhanced cooperation between them will also result in better experiences being made.
Samsung's brilliant execution of Galaxy AI has given it the advantage of positioning its Galaxy S24 series as the AI phone. Not only that, it has highlighted what AI can do on Android phones. Google probably doesn't want Samsung to hog all the spotlight, and by consolidating under a single banner, it would be better able to push its own creations and claw back some of that space it's lost.
The focus on AI for Google goes beyond Android and mobile devices. Its CEO has made no secret of the fact that AI will usher in one of the most important technological of our time. AI will fundamentally change Google and its various businesses, including its main breadwinner, Google Search. This is just one step in Google's aim to establish AI dominance in an increasingly crowded and competitive market.
