Why Google鈥檚 latest launch is more about the brand than the tech

Google has launched its latest flagship phones, Pixel 4 and 4XL. Although the new models feature relatively marginal improvements to their predecessors, the launch was staged with much fanfare by Google, as if it represented a major breakthrough for the company and the smartphone market 鈥� despite most of the product specs being leaked before the event.

The launch was just the latest in a series of product launches by leading digital tech companies that sharply overstated recent innovations.

On September 10, for instance,  introduced three new iPhones, revamped Apple Watches and two new subscriptions services, TV+ and Apple Arcade. Two weeks later,  presented a long list of new gadgets at its Alexa event. All these launches have something in common: the “novelties” they introduce are merely iterations of their existing product offering, yet they are presented as revolutionary.

Exaggeration does not come as a surprise in marketing and advertisement. Yet digital corporations pursue a precise strategy with their product launches. The main goal of these events is not so much introducing specific gadgets. It is to position these companies at the centre of the aura that the so-called digital revolution has acquired for billions of users – and customers – around the world.

Dr Simone Natale, a Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media, writes for about how Google's launch may be more about the brand rather than the tech. Read the full article

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