Google’s announcements at its I/O developer conference in 2025 had analysts bullish on its AI capabilities. Bank of America analysts wrote that AI features could be a ‘Trojan horse’ for Google’s Android products, giving them a significant advantage over Apple’s iOS.
Apple’s AI rollouts have been lackluster, and the company is reportedly rebuilding Siri using large language models. Meanwhile, Google’s ‘Project Astra’ assistant demo showed impressive capabilities, such as searching through a bike manual, pulling up a YouTube video, and calling a bike shop to check supply availability.
The Battle Between Android and iOS
The competition between Android and iOS has been ongoing, with Apple leading in US phone sales but trailing globally. As hardware upgrades slow, the focus has shifted to the software and AI capabilities inside devices. Google’s AI advancements could widen the gap between Android and iOS, potentially causing iPhone users to switch.
Google’s Strategy
Google has merged its Pixel, Chrome, and Android teams to capitalize on the AI opportunity. The company’s Android chief, Sameer Samat, emphasized the need to seize this ‘once-in-a-generation moment to reinvent what phones can do.’ Google’s Pixel phone line remains a small fraction of global smartphone shipments, but its partnerships with companies like Samsung bring AI features to billions of Android users.
Beyond Smartphones
Google is also betting on XR glasses as a potential next-generation computing platform. The company demoed glasses with a visual overlay, providing instant information to wearers. Meta is already selling augmented reality glasses, and Apple is expected to release its own smart glasses by 2026.
Analysts believe that Google’s AI advancements, combined with its huge partnerships and renewed bet on XR glasses, position the company to gain a significant advantage over Apple. As Mark Shmulik, Bernstein senior analyst, noted, ‘If it widens to the point where someone with an iPhone says, “Well my phone can’t do that,” does it finally cause that switching event from what everyone has always considered this incredible lock-in from Apple?’
