Google is making massive changes to how various teams operate, with CEO Sundar Pichai announcing an internal makeover in the form of a new division called ‘Platforms and Devices.’ All of Google’s products, ranging from hardware to software, will be a part of this new team, with the advertising giant’s Pixel, Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, and other products said to be a part of this new category. As for why the company decided to take this route, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services Rick Osterloh believes that ‘full-stack innovation’ will be possible when teams are consolidated.
By combining teams into a single one, Google executive claims that AI can be integrated into those products and services significantly faster
With AI being adopted in various applications at an astonishing pace, Google wants to keep pace with the latest trends. According to The Verge, Osterloh believes that adding teams from multiple divisions into a single unit means that Google can integrate AI across all of its products and services at a substantial speed. Osterloh also states that merging teams will mean that innovation can also be done quicker and uses the Pixel camera as an example below.
“You had to have deep knowledge of the hardware systems, from the sensors to the ISPs, to all layers of the software stack. And, at the time, all the early HDR and ML models that were doing camera processing… and I think that hardware / software / AI integration really showed how AI could totally transform a user experience. That was important. And it’s even more true today.”
Google has always kept its hardware efforts separate from Android so that it does not complicate its business relationships with other entities such as Samsung. However, the company’s stance has slowly changed over a few years. A team reorganization can help people work closely with one another and bring a uniform ecosystem-like experience. How successful this approach becomes is anyone’s guess, but one thing is sure: Google was definitely caught off-guard when OpenAI’s ChatGPT entered into the fold, and its efforts on Gemini are yet to bear fruit when it comes to delivering a product of equal measure.
Still, the company will continue to improve its chatbot while incorporating it at various hardware and software levels. It is also clear that every single employee who is now a part of ‘Platforms and Devices’ will have to adapt accordingly to Google’s new vision, and that can mean a tiresome experience. Still, in the pursuit of making great products and services, such decisions are required.
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