'When they created the iPod, they had people in the ecosystem,' said Gillett, adding that launching a device without such an infrastructure 'is extremely challenging.' IDC research vice president Frank Gillett said he could not recall any content company making a successful transition to hardware.īy contrast, a hardware maker like Apple Inc (AAPL.O) was able to launch music and video services by building on its operating system and existing device relationship with consumers. It launched to mixed reviews, with critics raising privacy concerns.

It also disappointed people with its phone that came out in 2013 in partnership with HTC. Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) Facebook plans to stop producing a consumer version of a videoconferencing device dubbed Portal, instead focusing on the business market. It announced a new type of Spectacles last year, featuring augmented reality.

Snap Inc (SNAP.N) shelved its original Spectacles, $130 sunglasses that transmitted video directly to the SnapChat app, back in 2017.

Spotify was not the first software company to seek to extend its relationship with users into the physical world through devices.Īlphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google was one of the early software companies to venture into hardware experiments with some major failures, including Google Glass - a wearable Android device resembling eyeglasses, which displayed information in the user's field of vision.

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