Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by JumpCrisscross 720 days ago
Waymo is posiionting itself as a premium product. Defending that brand precludes letting the cars go to shit.
2 comments

They may be trying to, but when has Google ever successfully positioned something as a premium product and defended that?
Pixel phones? Nest? The Bayview hotel rooms are pretty nice. Hell even Gmail feels pretty premium to me, but I guess this word might be considered subjective.

Also, Waymo isn't even Google. You might accuse me of overstating this, but truthfully they operate as a different company.

Pixel phones have less of a brand than Samsung, much less Apple (not talking about actual product quality, just brand positioning). Nest doesn't stand out, although I don't think any of the smart home things are really established enough to know which are good or bad. I've never heard of the Bayview hotel rooms. Gmail is good but it's not a "premium" feel.
There's always a first time.
Yup. Plus, if Waymo can clean its cars with greater efficiency at lower cost than Uber can, then all other things being equal, Waymo will have cleaner cars.