It's not just smartphones and tablets anymore. The world's tech giants are now battling over a wider array of connected devices, from refrigerators to cars to wristwatches.
Announcements in recent days from Apple and Samsung made clear they are staking their claim to the "Internet of Things" following Google's announcement earlier this year that it was creating a new Android platform for wearable electronics.
"The Internet of Things is the next big platform," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates.
"These are potentially billions of devices. That's a big market, so every consortium is lining up for that."
A study released by research firm IDC said the market for the Internet of Things (IoT) will grow from $1.9 trillion in 2013 to $7.1 trillion in 2020 as businesses and consumers adopt smart technology for homes, cars and a variety of accessories.
Apple unveiled Monday its new mobile operating system iOS 8 along with HealthKit software to manage personal healthcare and HomeKit for home appliances, while encouraging developers to create services for the iOS operating system used in iPhones and iPads.
Apple opens up
"Apple iOS 8 has the beginnings of a full-fledged platform supporting IoT, you can see it with their health and fitness hooks and their ability to entertain more third party devices," said Compass Intelligence chief mobile analyst Gerry Purdy.
But Apple is following its own path, aiming for tighter control and with less interoperability by limiting connections with non-Apple devices.
"It may be that Apple will just colonise a few areas and do it well," said Kay.
Samsung, meanwhile, is jumping into the fray with Tizen, an open-source operating system that could take on iOS and Android for connected devices.
Frank Gillett at Forrester Research said Samsung -- by far the most successful maker of Android phones and tablets -- wants to distance itself from Google in the next phase of technology.
"I think Samsung is in a challenging and difficult place," Gillett told AFP.
"They have been successful in building devices but they don't have a software platform or a consumer relationship."
Gillett said that with Tizen, Samsung is aiming for "a multi-part software and services strategy to build sticky relationships with customers to keep them buying hardware."
Still, he said it was "an uphill battle" for Samsung, which is trying to establish a new platform to compete against Android, iOS and others -- including Microsoft's Windows and BlackBerry's QNX, which is widely used in automobile systems.
Richard Windsor of Edison Investment Research says Google has shown it can make money from this strategy of offering Android for free.
"Samsung has mistakenly assumed that it can maintain its 18 percent handset margins by focusing on hardware. Consequently, it has been willing to cede complete control of the ecosystem to Google," he said in a research note.
"This has ensured that Google will grow nicely driven by mobile advertising revenues while we expect Samsung to experience declining earnings."
A wide open market
But the Internet of Things will likely be big enough for several platforms and may not see the same platform wars as the PC or smartphone markets.
"I don't put any platform out there in front," Gillett said.
The analyst said that the market is unlikely to be a "duopoly," and that there "is a whole other layer of complexity" to the market for the Internet of Things.
For now, some analysts see Google as best positioned to benefit from the new phase of the Internet.
Bob O'Donnell at TECHnalysis Research said the Apple strategy "is creating a great reason to stick with Apple devices across all their main categories," but added that "most Apple users don't have all Apple devices."
"Their vision could be made much more effective if they could somehow bring other non-Apple OS devices into the group," O'Donnell said in a blog post.
Kay said Google's ubiquity is giving a reason for developers of apps and other products to use Android.
"Android has been widely adopted and it's an adaptable platform," Kay said. "Developers go to the place with the most seats, because they want to sell to the largest audience."
AFP
Sun Jun 08 2014
A Samsung employee demonstrates the new SM-R381 Smartwatch at the Tizen Developer Conference in San Francisco, California on June 3, 2014. - AFP Photo/Josh Edelson
Belanjawan 2025: Apa yang Sabah dan Sarawak dapat?
Ikuti analisis awal Belanjawan 2025 bersama Pensyarah Kanan, Jabatan Sosiobudaya, Universiti Malaya, Datuk Prof Madya Dr. Awang Azman Awang Pawi.
Gaji minimum dinaikkan ke RM1,700 bermula Februari 2025
Penguatkuasaan gaji minimum itu ditangguhkan bagi majikan yang mempunyai kurang daripada lima pekerja bagi tempoh 6 bulan iaitu berkuat kuasa pada 1 Ogos 2025.
Yuran SBP, IPTA akan dinaikkan kepada kumpulan kaya
Jelas Anwar yang juga Menteri Kewangan, penyasaran subsidi seumpama itu akan turut melibatkan kesihatan awam.
Bantuan Awal Persekolahan kekal, kerajaan peruntukkan RM800 juta
Kerajaan mengumumkan akan meneruskan Bantuan Awal Persekolahan (BAP), dengan hampir 500 juta ringgit diperuntukkan kepada 5.2 juta murid Tahun 1 hingga Tingkatan 5 tanpa mengira pendapatan ibu bapa.
Keputusan representasi Papagomo gugur kes hasut 6 Januari 2025
Keputusan representasi dikemukakan bekas Exco Pemuda Umno Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris atau lebih dikenali Papagomo bagi menggugurkan pertuduhan menghasut yang mendatangkan kebencian terhadap Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim akan diketahui 6 Januari depan.
Fenomena air pasang di Pelabuhan Klang terkawal
Sebanyak enam balai terlibat bagi pemantauan ini dan tumpuan adalah untuk melihat jika fenomena itu memberikan kesan signifikan kepada masyarakat setempat.
Chegubard akan kemuka representasi gugur tuduhan fitnah
Badrul Hisham Shaharin atau Chegubard akan mengemukakan representasi bagi menggugurkan pertuduhan mengeluarkan kenyataan fitnah yang akan merosakkan nama baik Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, Januari lepas.
Na'imah gagal tangguh sementara bayar RM313.82 juta kepada LHDN
Isteri bekas Menteri Kewangan, Tun Daim Zainuddin, Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid gagal menangguhkan sementara perintah supaya membayar tunggakan cukai pendapatan berjumlah RM313.82 juta kepada LHDN.
Tiga termasuk dua pegawai penguat kuasa, Pulau Pinang ditahan
Dua pegawai agensi penguat kuasa dan seorang warga Bangladesh ditahan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) Pulau Pinang kerana dipercayai terbabit mengatur kemasukan warga asing menerusi laluan kaunter khas di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang.
Terus perangi Rasuah, peruntukan SPRM ditingkatkan kepada RM360 juta
Kerajaan memberi kebebasan sepenuhnya kepada Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) menyiasat dan mengambil tindakan tegas bagi mengheret pesalah rasuah ke muka pengadilan.
Pengguna Apple iPhone 16 lapor isu bateri habis terlalu pantas
Untuk penggunaan ringan, bateri peranti mereka dilapor tidak mampu bertahan untuk penggunaan satu hari penuh.
Indonesia tidak benarkan iPhone 16 kerana Apple tidak ikut peraturan tempatan
Peraturan ini meliputi keperluan pelaburan dan juga memperbaharui persijilan kandungan tempatan.
HomePod dengan skrin bakal dilancar tahun depan, dengan integrasi Apple Intelligence
HomePod baharu akan hadir dengan integrasi Apple Intelligence, membawa sokongan kecerdasan buatan kepada pelbagai produk Apple.
Apple iPhone 16 kini boleh dipratempah, dengan pilihan ambil terus di Apple Store TRX
Pengguna tempatan boleh membuat pembelian dan menerimanya bermula 20 September 2024.
Apple diarah bayar cukai €13 bilion kepada Ireland
APPLE kini perlu membayar cukai berjumlah "13 bilion (RM62 bilion) kepada Ireland.
Malaysia negara terawal terima siri iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro – mulai 20 Sept 2024
Para pengguna tempatan boleh melakukan tempahan bermula 8 malam 13 September 2024 dan mula menerimanya bermula 20 September 2024.
Apple dilapor akan beralih sepenuhnya ke skrin OLED untuk semua iPhone bermula 2025
Penggunaan panel OLED dilihat akan menawarkan paparan warna yang lebih cantik, selain sesuai untuk paparan video berdefinisi tinggi.
Apple Mac Mini baharu dijangka buang sambungan USB-A
Ini mungkin selari dengan perubahan yang telah dilakukan pada komputer riba MacBook, yang tidak lagi menyertakan sambungan USB-A, dan memfokuskan sepenuhnya pada USB-C.
Apple dilapor bangunkan Magic Keyboard lebih murah untuk iPad
Apple sedang menguji Magic Keyboard pada harga lebih rendah, menyasarkan pengguna iPad asas dan juga iPad Air.
Apple, NVIDIA dilapor ingin melabur dalam OpenAI
Ini akan membuatkan pelbagai syarikat terkemuka teknologi kini bersaing dalam mendapatkan pegangan masing-masing pada OpenAI.