Technologies

What Google Needs to Do For Android to Overcome Apple and iPhone in 2023

Google’s Android has fallen to second place to Apple’s iPhone and iOS for the first time in over a decade. Here’s what the search giant needs to do to gain back the top spot.

Google has fallen second place to Apple in the Android vs. iPhone war for the first time in over a decade. The free and open-source operating system, which still powers the majority of the world’s phones, can be found on devices from Samsung, OnePlus and Motorola. Even when combined with budget brands such as Nokia, TCL and Blu, Android-loaded handsets can’t outsell the iPhone stateside.

From a global perspective, Apple’s dominance is an outlier. The US, Canada and Japan are the only countries where Apple has an edge over Android. Everywhere else Android leads, usually by a wide margin.

Android falling behind speaks to the cachet Apple has built up around the iPhone franchise. From celebrities photographed at cafes with iPhones to their ears to late-night hosts engaging in repartee with an Apple Watch cuffed to their wrist, Apple products are both function and fashion of America’s aristocratic class. And thanks to iMessage, Apple has created messaging partition, with the «haves» enjoying blue bubble gardens and the «have nots» being relegated to green squalor. Heck, even movie villains can’t be filmed using an iPhone.

But there’s reason to be optimistic about Android’s attempts to retake the crown in the US. Google is building out an ecosystem to surround the Pixel 7, including with the introduction of the Pixel Watch. A Pixel tablet is coming next year. And Android does have its own base of rabid fans — even if they’re not on a Hollywood set.

So what can Google do to make Android relevant in the US again? Here are a few ways.

Double down on ecosystem

Google took too long to release the Pixel Watch, letting the Apple Watch act as a Trojan Horse and keep people locked inside Apple’s garden.

«Apple has such a sticky ecosystem. Especially the Watch, once you buy that watch, you’re locked into an iPhone,» said Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart. Google hasn’t had that up until this year. «And even then, its first watch is really a 1.0 product.»

Google’s slow trudge bringing the Pixel Watch to market means that the Apple Watch remains far ahead. At least now there’s an option for Pixel owners to keep them from feeling left behind.

The US market differs from the rest of the world in that there’s far less competition in the Android space. Concerns about Chinese tech companies tracking American consumers have essentially made it impossible for brands like Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo to operate in the US. That leaves a handful of brands that can sell alternatives outside of Samsung and Google.

«Having more devices in the market also gives the carriers more choices on devices they can give away for free or do more promotions on,» said Anshel Sag, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

The lack of manufacturer diversity is only one problem Google is facing. The iPad line continues to remain a popular second-screen device, acting as an internet gateway for both toddlers and the elderly. Only one high-quality Android tablet comes to mind with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus, but its software is nowhere near as refined as iPad OS, with it often feeling like a big screen version of Android. Google has already announced a «premium» Pixel tablet for 2023, but it really will need to impress to draw in the throngs of consumers trained to look at iPads as the tablet.

Unfortunately, one area Google might not be able to offer a viable competitor to Apple is in laptop and home computing. Google’s Chromebooks are excellent affordable laptops for basic tasks, but lack the horsepower and flexibility to offer the functionality found with MacOS and Windows. It’s a market that’s already been carved up by Apple and Microsoft, making it difficult for Google to create a viable alternative. Even if it did, the installed base would be so small that it wouldn’t attract top developers. Here, Google’s best option is to continue integrating its products better with Mac and Windows machines to offer a comparable experience to iPhone and Mac.

Matter matters

One area that Google has dominance over Apple is in smart home. Cupertino is seldom quick to jump into new product categories, which is evidenced by years of rumors surrounding Apple’s supposed VR/AR headset and the Apple car. Apple did try to make an effort at home devices with HomeKit, but it’s largely been left forgotten. Google, on the other hand, has a heavy presence in the smart home with its voice assistant-backed displays, such as the Nest Hub, and its Nest WiFi, Doorbell and camera products.

Unfortunately, the smart home industry has stagnated with a dizzying array of competing products confusing consumers. A person who owns an Amazon Alexa smart speaker might be unsure if it will cooperate with their Google Nest doorbell.

Enter Matter, a universal smart home standard that will allow new home devices, regardless of brand, to communicate with one another. Even Apple, the company that enjoys creating walled gardens, has joined the Connected Standards Alliance, along with Amazon, Google, Samsung, Ikea, Lutron, Signify and others.

«That is an area where Google could take some advantage, building more of those controls or just exposing them more in Android,» Greengart said. This includes building out a person’s homepage, widgets and making connections between multiple devices. Greengart said it’ll be up to Google to let people know that smart home interoperability can be done best on Android.

Beat Apple to innovation

Google’s product events continue to get better, bringing greater production value and fanfare, but still can’t capture the same magic as Apple. The Cupertino, California-based company still has that ability to drum up excitement over its family of products and services. Enthusiastic rhetoric from executives mixed with high production value can make a person believe that Apple is bringing the latest in tech and innovation, even if that isn’t always the case.

High refresh screens to optical image stabilization and laser autofocus, all features Apple breathlessly crows about, came to Android first.

There are, however, consumers who see past the fancy macro shots and do want to be the first to new tech. This is an area Google should double-down on to entice enthusiasts.

Already, rumors are surfacing of a Pixel foldable device, one that could compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.

«I think [Samsung’s] really starting to gain momentum there. And I think it’s showing, but the problem is the price, right?,» Sag said. If Samsung can continue pushing the price of foldables down, it’ll help increase the category’s popularity, bringing more competition. «As a result, competition will probably equal more sales and more competitive pricing.»

Google has also been heavily advertising Pixel features, such as live translate in its 2022 World Cup commercial. The Pixel 7 is also the official «fan phone» of the NBA this season, with a commercial featuring player Giannis Antetokounmpo and actor Simu Liu. Google has also reportedly placed the largest order of Pixel 7 devices, more than any prior iteration. Regardless of sales and celebrity endorsement, Google needs to make Pixel feel premium and exclusive, almost anathema to Android’s core vision as a free and open-source operating system. Because, if Apple’s success is any indication, people like feeling as if they’re in the «in crowd.»

Technologies

Google’s New AI Features Are Trying to Make Data Entry a Thing of the Past

More Gemini AI features will come to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

The latest batch of Google updates to its workspace tools highlights AI’s promise to automate mundanity in the workplace. Google Docs, Slides, Sheets and Drive all have new AI-powered features, the company announced Tuesday. The one thing all these updates have in common? Gemini is using your files, emails and chats to give you relevant information, not random answers gleaned from the web.

These updates come as AI is playing a bigger role in our work lives, for better or worse. Agentic tools like Claude Cowork and coding assistants like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex are more capable than chatbots and able to handle tasks announced independently. AI tools are also becoming more customized, with Google’s personalized intelligence rolling out across its platforms to help refine AI outputs to things that are relevant and useful for you. Google continues that trend with this new batch of Workspace updates.

New Gemini AI features in Google Workspace apps will cite their sources after each query. For example, if you ask Gemini in Google Docs to fill out an itinerary template, it will pull the information from your email, chats and files. The «sources» tab in the Gemini side panel will show you where it found the information it used, like your flight confirmation email and chats discussing dinner plans. Seeing where Gemini pulled its answers from is also how you’ll double-check Gemini’s work.

The most impressive new features are in Sheets, where AI can fill in the holes in your spreadsheets. You can describe what you want the AI to do with a simple prompt and avoid writing an exact formula. You can click on an empty cell, select the pop-up that says «Drag to fill with Gemini,» then highlight the cells you want Gemini to fill in. That deploys an AI agent to search the web to fill each cell with the necessary information.

For example, if you have a spreadsheet of the contact info for local companies, you can have Gemini search the web to fill in a the location, CEO and other publicly available information of each company. The tool aims to dramatically reduce the time needed for manual data entry. Gemini can also summarize, categorize and create charts with prompts alone.

You can also chat with Gemini in Sheets and have it scour your raw data to make custom reports and charts. No need for pivot tables if they confound you as much as they baffle me. One of the biggest uses of AI at work is helping create presentations.

In Google Slides, you can now tell Gemini in natural language what you want to appear on a slide, and it will create it, matching the style of your existing slides. You can also ask Gemini to edit your slides if you don’t want to waste time painstakingly moving design elements around the slide. The AI should fill the slides with relevant information based on your instructions and the work files it has access to, so you shouldn’t need to replace a bunch of filler text.

If you use Docs, Sheets and Slides through the Workspace account of your company, then you won’t be able to turn off AI features individually. The managing company is in control of AI access for users. Personal users can tweak their settings to limit Gemini. The new features are rolling out in beta now, in English only, to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers in the US, as well as some Google Workspace customers who are part of the Gemini Alpha testing program.

For more, check out the new cowork feature in Copilot and how to use Perplexity AI for deep research.

Technologies

Nintendo Switches Lanes, Sues US Over Tariffs

Mario wants his money back.

Tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump were struck down by the Supreme Court last month. Companies that were subjected to those fees, such as FedEx and Dollar General, have since sued the federal government, and Nintendo wants a piece of the action.

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the US Court of International Trade on Friday, as first spotted by Aftermath. The complaint seeks refunds of tariffs Nintendo paid, plus interest, and asks the court to declare the tariffs unlawful and stop the government from collecting them going forward.

«Since February 1, 2025, President Trump has executed the unlawful Executive Orders, imposing tariffs on imports from a vast swath of countries,» Nintendo said in the complaint.

When reached for comment, Nintendo of America confirmed the lawsuit.

«We can confirm that we filed a request. We have nothing else to share on this topic,» Nintendo of America said in an emailed statement on Friday, March 6.

It’s unclear how much Nintendo paid in tariffs, and it did not state an amount in the lawsuit. While the Switch 2 was priced at $450 when it launched last year, and has stayed at that amount, Nintendo did increase the price of the original Switch and accessories for both consoles. Microsoft and Sony also increased the prices of their hardware and accessories last year due to tariffs.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court ruled by a vote of 6 to 3 that the sweeping tariffs Trump instituted last year exceeded his executive powers. Following the ruling, on the same day, Trump announced a new set of tariffs of 10% on imported goods that would last for 150 days, starting Feb. 24.

The decision on what to do with the collected tariffs — a reported $166 billion — has been left to the US Court of International Trade. Judge Richard Eaton told the US Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday, March 4, to refund the importers that were forced to pay tariffs, which is more than 330,000. On Friday, the CBP said it couldn’t easily issue tariff refunds because its system requires duties to be recalculated and refunds processed entry by entry. This process would involve tens of millions of transactions. The agency said it’s updating its systems and could start providing refunds by late April.