Florence Ion covers smartphones and smart homes for Gizmodo. She’s been writing about the Android operating system since 2012 and recently added iOS to her repertoire. You can follow her coverage here, and email story ideas or arguments why she should switch to the iPhone here.
Android’s market share is trailing behind Apple in the U.S. and Canada, and iPhones recently scored more than 50% of the total US market for the first time ever. It’s probably all about the ecosystem: No one does a walled garden that’s worth sitting in like Apple. Google and Samsung certainly try, but those two companies are also competing with one another, so the platform is segmented. We’ll be watching closely to see how Android fights back in 2023.
TV timeThis 58-inch smart TV has 4K visuals on a stunning ULED screen that boosts color, contrast, and brightness, has Fire TV built-in for convenience, and even includes Alexa.
Google is into the habit of dropping special features just for its Pixel smartphones. There’s often a technical reason for the exclusivity; after all, the whole point of the in-house Tensor chip was to fine-tune its AI capabilities so that Google could sell more smartphones. But this practice will lead to more fragmentation in the Android operating system. Even with Google’s unification efforts through the Android source code and providing updates piecemeal through the Play Store, as long as Google, Samsung, and brands like OnePlus do their own thing to compete with one another, the disparity will continue.
Foldables will go mainstream in 2023, and there will be some brand out there that debuts a more affordable option. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 remains an impressive piece of kit, but it’s too expensive, even with a trade-in and gift certificates. If Google comes through with a Pixel foldable, cheaper brands will be pretty close—the Android source code is already primed for it. And if more Android manufacturers buy into the form factor, Apple will have to give in and make its foldable device—right?
Source: Gizmodo