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On August 13, at the Pixel hardware launch event to be held on Tuesday, US time,GoogleTrying to surpassappleYeariPhoneevent and put the spotlight on its veteran executive Rick Osterloh.

Osterloh is the former president of Motorola and joined Google in 2016. This year, under his leadership, hardware andAndroidThe system's development team was integrated, and he personally led the first release of an important Google product. This reorganization not only expanded Osterloh's influence in the company, but also demonstrated Google's ambition to develop a long-term layout in the hardware field.

In order to enter the consumer electronics market more aggressively, Google will launch its Pixel flagshipSmartphoneThe launch was brought forward from October to August, which not only pre-dated the release of Apple's next-generation iPhone, but also took advantage of a usually quiet period in the industry and attracted public attention.

"This is the first time I've ever felt that Google is taking its hardware and smartphone business very seriously, which reflects Osterloh's leadership and influence," said Mandeep Singh, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Google has invested heavily in its Pixel line, including designing its own chips, sponsoring the NBA playoffs and even giving away devices to basketball superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo. Despite this, Google still lags behind Apple in the high-end market. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics has a large share of the high-end market in the United States, leaving very little room for other competitors, even for industry giants like Google.

Despite the fierce competition, Osterloh's position within Google is still rising. He now runs the company's consumer products alone, a move that may come at the expense of former Android head Hiroshi Lockheimer, indicating that Google hopes to take advantage of the current opportunity to promote the commercialization of artificial intelligence through devices.

Ben Wood, principal analyst at CCS Insight, noted: "Osterloh's role is significant, not just for Android but also for key platforms like Chrome. This may indicate that Google recognises the need for a more coordinated strategy across platforms, particularly as competition in artificial intelligence heats up."

Singh also noted that the latest wave of generative AI features could rekindle consumer interest in smartphones and prompt them to upgrade their devices more frequently. Samsung has positioned its Galaxy series as "AI-first" products, with the Galaxy S24 series seeing double-digit sales growth over its predecessor. Apple has also said it plans to boost iPhone sales with a series of new features called Apple Intelligence.

Since Osterloh joined the company, Google's Pixel series has been known for its artificial intelligence technology in its camera software, especially the groundbreaking Night Sight mode, a feature that many manufacturers, including Apple, have imitated. Google's in-house designed Tensor mobile processor provides the company with a unique competitive advantage in the Android camp.

Singh noted that Google's decision to show off its new hardware a month before Apple's biggest annual event not only shows its leading position in the market, but also suggests that its Pixel series may be at least six months ahead of Apple's iPhone 16 in technology. He added that although Apple has been investing in artificial intelligence for many years, its investment is still insufficient compared with some other large technology companies.

Google's strategy -- tightly integrating hardware, software and services -- dovetails with Apple's successful device design philosophy. Yet even as Osterloh capitalizes on the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, he faces a long-term challenge: how to compete with Apple without threatening key relationships with hardware giants that rely on the Android operating system, such as Xiaomi Corp.

Sameer Samat, president of Google's Android business, said his team strictly adheres to the boundaries of information sharing to ensure that projects between the Pixel team and partners such as Samsung do not interfere with each other. However, he emphasized that under Osterloh's leadership, Google's AI technology has been more smoothly transferred from the lab to Android partners. "This allows us to bring some AI innovations to the broader ecosystem more quickly," he added. "It's all about accelerating our efforts in the field of AI and improving the consumer experience."

Osterloh traveled to South Korea early in his tenure to meet with Samsung’s CEO to ensure the partnership and collaboration between the two companies was on track, and he also attended Samsung’s Unpacked product event in July, promising to bring Google’s AI experiences “to all Android devices.”

Singh believes that although Google's progress in the hardware field may temporarily affect Android partners, this change is actually a positive driving force, prompting these brands to speed up the pace of innovation. He believes that this will enhance the strength of the Google ecosystem as a whole. (Xiaoxiao)