Recently, CNET reported that Facebook might be working on a phone of its own. All the cool kids are doing it. Apple was the first, and is the coolest kid on the block, but Google‘s Android phone has a higher market share. Google is sticking with attempts at hardware, the latest with the well-received Pixel. Microsoft is still trying to move the needle on its Windows phone. Amazon’s Fire Phone flamed out, but Amazon has had some success with its Fire tablet, as has Microsoft with its Surface. Facebook is the only one of the big players that doesn’t have a phone or a tablet—Apple and Google obviously have both.
What would be in a Facebook phone? There are some indications that it might take over the modular idea that Google abandoned when it cancelled the Ara project. Perhaps it will go toward Virtual Reality, using Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus Rift.
But beyond features, why does Facebook want a phone? Facebook might already be the top-used app on every kind of phone. Does Facebook believe it needs hardware to jump-start Facebook payments? Some believe that Google’s motivation to go into phone hardware is around making payments ubiquitous.
It might be none of these things. There might be no grand plan. What seems to be happening more and more is that each one of these companies rake in so much cash that they just can’t help themselves from getting into everyone else’s business. As time goes on, each of these companies looks around for anything the others are doing and needs to have its own. I don’t know if that really makes sense as a strategy, but as a digital marketer, you need to be prepared to see even more platforms, and be prepared to choose between them.
