While Amazon might have had an early start, it does not put Google out of the race
Published By: Ken Bock on January 7, 2017 07:54 am EST
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) surprised investors as its digital assistant Alexa appeared everywhere at the Consumers Electronic Show held earlier this week in Las Vegas. Alexa also made a surprising appearance on rival Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Android System, threatening it.
According to Reuters, a wide range of companies including Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) launched their devices featuring Alexa. Additionally, Huawei – Chinese Smartphones Company – also revealed plans of manufacturing smartphones, running on Google’ Android System and featuring an application which will provide users access to Alexa in the US. This can provide significant boost to Amazon shares, which closed in the green yesterday after registering a 1.99% increase.
Analysts suggest that the adoption of the $397.61 billion company’s digital assistant by Huawei implies that Amazon might have attained an early lead over Alphabet. Moreover, it also holds significant importance with potential to succeed touch screens and keyboards going forward. Therefore, both the companies are currently in the race to expand their digital assistant’s customer base.
Reuters also cited Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson as stating: “Google must establish a strong presence quickly, particularly on Android devices, to maintain its dominance in Internet search.” Alphabet is likely to face massive losses if something other than its own digital assistant features its phones. Mr. Dawson also stated that Google’s decision to launch its own voice assistant on its own smartphone might adversely impact its relations with other voice assistant makers.
In comparison, CEO of Alterra.ai, Sergei Burkov, believes that while Amazon might have gained a head start in this area, Google is by no means out of the race when it comes to digital assistants. This is because search constitutes a large part of such assistants. In this regard, Alphabet could certainly have a lead as Google has long been in the search business whereas the online retailer has not.
