After Chrome OS, how long can the Google-Apple friendship last?

July 8, 2009 | Anthony Ha | Comments | |

jobs-schmidtMost of the discussion around Google’s just-announced operating system, Chrome OS, has focused on the threat Google poses to Microsoft. But while Google vs. Microsoft is the big story (given the dominance of Microsoft Windows), and it has the most dramatic juice, I can’t help wondering how the move will affect another important Google relationship — its alliance with Apple.

After all, Google and Apple’s boards share two directors, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and former Genentech chief executive Arthur Levinson. The arrangement made sense when Google was all about the web and Apple was all about computers and other personal electronic devices. But as Google’s ambitions grow, that relationship is even starting to draw federal scrutiny for possible antitrust violations.

The New York Times says the “interlocking directorates” rule, which prohibits someone from serving on rival company boards if it might reduce competition, applies when directly competing products account for more than 2 percent of a company’s sales. And the list of areas where Google and Apple compete just keeps getting longer: Apple’s iPhone vs. Google’s Android, Apple’s Safari browser vs. Google’s Chrome, Apple laptops vs. Android netbooks, and now, Apple’s operating system vs. Chrome OS.

On the last front, Google makes it clear that it isn’t thinking small, either. The initial market for Chrome OS is netbooks (devices that are smaller and cheaper than laptops), but Google also says it’s “being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems.” In other words, we can expect Google to go head-to-head with Apple at some point in the future, in the same way Apple and Microsoft are duking it now now. It seems likely that Schmidt (pictured above with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs) will have to resign from Apple’s board before then. If he doesn’t, things could get … awkward.

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About the Author, Anthony Ha

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on enterprise technology, cloud computing, and tech policy. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.

  • mark
    Apple and Google seem to compete in the area of "free". So is that really competition?

    Apple earns its revenue selling electronic devices (including extended warranty services) and peripherals, software applications (including packaged OS upgrades), and some cloud computing services (mobileme, iWork). Apple also earns revenue selling third-party electronics, software applications, and music/tv/movie content via its retail/online stores. Apple sells no ads.

    Google earns its revenue primarily selling ads of all kinds, and minimally through some cloud computing services (Google Docs service to businesses). Google sells no electronic devices (no netbooks, no phones, nothing.)

    In the areas of overlap, both give away their browsers for free. Google also gives away its OSes for free; Apple's OSes are intended specificaly for use on its own hardware. So only in cloud computing services do they really "compete," though most users use Google's services for free.

    One could really argue that instead of competing, they are really complementing each other, like hand and glove, ostensibly for the purpose of containing Microsoft.
  • cyberfanatic
    it's interesting to see it from a different prospective!
  • prediction: Between free chrome OS and Microsoft moving to cloud apps and providing MS office components for free, apple is going to have to do some major re-thinking of their pricepoints if they are going to stay in the computer industry and be more than an overpriced/expensive notebook, mp3 player and phone if they are going to be competitive in this economy.

    as a longtime apple computer user who doesn't worship at the altar of apple and sees the value pricing of pcs, I'd like venturebeat to do a story on those prospects.
  • Steve
    It will be interesting to see if Google actually does some innovation here or whether it just becomes another Linux distribution. Google has the potential to make a Linux distribution that consumers might actually embrace. This could be exciting. If nothing else, if it challenges Microsoft's dominant position, it can't be a bad thing. I just hope this isn't another half hearted attempt.
  • Agreed. Even just looking at the customers they're targeting, they're vastly different - Apple is, as always, positioned for the high end luxury users, whereas Google is targeting the low end, discount buyers.

    And I highly doubt Apple will release a cheap netbook. An expensive netbook, maybe. Not a cheap one.
  • jtsdst
    Follow the money trails: Google's is advertising, Apple's is hardware. Even if their trails cross or overlap, they go in radically different directions.
  • We learned that leading up to the launch of Android that Schmidt had to excuse himself from board discussions regarding the iPhone so its clear that this is about to broaden if the Chrome OS is anything more than a Linux distro + the Chrome browser.

    Also, why isnt anybody mentioning the G-OS that shipped on that box Walmart was selling a short while back? Doesnt that stand as Google's first foray into the OS market?
  • Simon
    G-OS wasn't google. It was a third party distro using google services. Suspect chrome OS'll be a lot better..
  • Google doesn't sell Android, afaik - it's free to license. Ditto Chrome and probably Chrome OS. So it will take a long time for any of them to amount to 2% of Google's sales :)
  • Apple can take advantage of this opportunity and jump to chromeOS before the competition. It would be a marvel to have an apple engineered netbook, or an iphone running chromeOS. OSX's development platform is old, bulky and so-not-sexy
  • what
    Are you stupid or just trying to be funny?
  • louiev
    I think he was just trying to get his sexy on.
  • I would argue that an Apple Notebook and a Chrome netbook won't normaly be competitors. A chrome netbook v windows netbook or a low cost laptop, maybe the bottom of the line macbook. but no one going to be considering a 299 netbook v a 2299 MBP.
  • brucecurtis
    Chrome does not necessarily exclude the other OSs. There is no reason that you can't dual or triple-boot a Mac into OSX, Win7 or ChromeOS. You can set the default to ChromeOS for quick e-mail checks or select OSX to run some heavier apps.

    Plus, you can always access your Chrome/Google apps from the other two.
  • omnia
    I think this is a stupid stunt from google. It will fail for sure. But it will also make some damage to Apple definitly. Apple did some mistakes and they will pay for that.

    For Microsoft - they will not even feel it. They own the mighty OS planet.
  • hopingforfailure
    Google is beginning to become too overwhelmed with power. I mean the chrome web browser was all right. But a full-blown OS? Stupid. I used to love google but after hearing this, I can't stand the company. But it will definitely hurt apple. Google does dominate most of the web including YouTube. But for them to take a step out of their 'web based' perspective into a 'computer company' just sounds like a really dumb move. I have feeling they want to be the next Microsoft. They are light-years away from that. But who knows? They could become pretty successful. But my guess is that they will become another 'linux'