Sea of Sameness

Without Googling, can you name any of these smartphones?

Well, if you didn't get the hint, they're all from Google.

Having worked in the smartphone industry for 5 years, I still have a passion for it.

Last month, they announced the upcoming launch of the latest one (9a)

The problem Google has is that everyone knows Google is the verb for search, not smartphones.

The verb for smartphones is the iPhone, of course.

For me, even tho it was a late entrance to an industry that's already matured, Google's Pixel has stood out thanks in part to its bold industrial design.

But IMO, with the new Pixel 9a, the bar has been lowered or eliminated.

Google says this was done to make the phone more pocketable.

But it also makes the 9a blend into the background, just another slab-sided slate in a sea of the same.

If you're not first, you need to disrupt.

Be that:
- Design
- Pricing
- Customer experience
- Marketing

If you end trying to please everyone, as Google have done here, you end up with a very boring product the same as everyone else out there.