With its Pixel Watch and tablet, Google is getting serious about its own ecosystem

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This year's I/O keynote was filled with hardware announcements, which is unusual considering it is usually a software and services-focused affair. The most exciting news was the announcement that the company will be returning to the tablet market next year and that it will also be releasing a watch later in the year.

There were different reasons for the change of heart. The most interesting of these was a comment from the VP of product management of the company, who talked about the benefits a tablet device could have for the community.

It's important that customers buy the specific devices, but it's not the most important thing. It's important that they buy into the whole thing. There is an array of accessories that are designed to pair perfectly with the phone that you have bought. After buying the perfect accessory, there is a good chance they will stick with the brand for their next upgrade.

It is similar to the approach Apple has taken to turn itself into a $2 trillion company. You can control Apple Fitness workouts on your Apple TV with an Apple Watch. You understand the idea.

Apple will sometimes prioritize its walled garden over the quality of its individual products. The HomePod is a case in point, it would have been more useful and sold more units if it had let you stream over the internet rather than Apple's own standard. Benedict Evans observed at the time that the purpose of the HomePod was not to sell a lot of units but to offer a reason to stay with Apple for their next phone purchase.

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

I don't think that the same kind of walls will ever be built around the garden of the company. The company's core advertising business relies on working at a scale that outdoes even a massive company like Apple, and this open approach has allowed Android to control an estimated 75 percent of the global smartphone market. Wear OS is designed to work with both Windows and the iPad. The release of a new device won't change that.

The approach Apple uses with its AirPods is likely to be subtle. Wear OS is already at its best when it is coupled with a phone. ChromeOS offers support for running Android apps and is often designed to be cross- compatible. After years of leaving hardware to other companies, the focus seems to be shifting to a combined hardware and software approach. I'd be very surprised if the watch didn't work best with the Pixel phones.

It appears to be finding the limits of this approach because it is against the ambitions of other companies. As of last year, the highest profile Wear OS smartwatch manufacturer was also the biggest manufacturer of Android tablets. Even though they use the operating systems from Google, the devices from the company have always encouraged their users to use the company's own system.

The use of Wear OS on one of its watches was finally seen in last year'sGalaxy Watch 4. The loyalty of the smartwatch was always to the South Korean company. It used a different method of payment than the others, and came with a variety of apps from the same company. It can use the system for auto-switching earbuds from one phone to another.

If you are a SAMSUNG user, the GALAXY WATCH 4 is an excellent watch. If you're not, you'll be forced into the ecosystems of the two companies, my former colleague said in his review.

It is the same with tablets. Dan found many convenient features in the Tab S8 that were only important to users of other devices. The tablet could turn on the phone's mobile hotspot feature, and the Buds would automatically switch between the two.

Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge

Where the incentives are for consumer tech companies are shown by the approach of the company. They could design their products to integrate with all of the products and services of the company. If you're the biggest phone manufacturer in the world, you could use some of that install base to encourage your existing customers to pick up a new device. Who is going to think about changing to a phone with a full array of tech when they get it?

Since the inception of its Pixel lineup, Google has tried to pair a limited hardware focus with broad software support. If you don't control both your hardware and software, then you're going to let another company do it better, and maybe even park its platform right on top of yours.