So Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote quite an article for the New York Times. It criticized Apple for using something we all crave and need…privacy. This Google CEO sounds off on Apple.
So let me explain. Pichai criticized Apple for selling privacy protection as a luxury item. This stems from new…ahem…budget smartphones from Apple and Google/Android. Because both offer privacy features. However, the Google smartphone starts at $399. But the new Apple one cost $749, almost twice as much. In the New York Times article, Pichai said, “Privacy cannot be a luxury good offered only to people who can afford to buy premium products and services”. Yes, he directed this to Apple and this new smartphone of theirs.
Then add the fact that Google’s new smartphone offers privacy protection features as much as Apple does. If that isn’t enough, then add the criticism Tim Cook has toward Google, especially when it comes to privacy issues. One time, he used the word, ‘surveillance’ quite often. He didn’t say Google directly, but even a kid know who Cook threw shade at. This week, Google showed off a bunch of new products helping consumers control their own data. Of course, many others criticized Google over the lack of privacy. Maybe Pichai is getting the message and trying to do something about it.
Because ‘privacy’ is now the word of the day of sorts in Silicon Valley. Look at some of the recent news articles in the IT service community. But look at these prices though. Google’s is almost half as Apple’s. That’s the part I find interesting. If Cook is criticizing Google so hard, then why is his privacy protection smartphone so much more? And why does Google CEO sounds off on Apple? Why are they doing this now? Is it because Pichai is so concerned with privacy? Or is this a way for Google to stick it to their arch rivals?