- Paolo Ardoino teased the possibility of a new Tether-backed smartphone.
- The Pear Phone is set to exclude Google software and features.
- Google is facing uncertainty from multiple angles.
The smartphone market is notoriously cutthroat, having claimed several corporate casualties over the years. Korean electronics giant LG exited the arena in 2021, citing intense competition while disclosing $4.5 billion in losses over the preceding five years. HTC’s slow, drawn-out fade into obscurity further underscores the industry’s brutal economics.
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Yet that unforgiving landscape doesn’t seem to faze Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether. Ardoino recently teased potential plans for the “Pear Phone,” an audacious attempt to challenge Google’s dominance of the Android ecosystem at a time of increasing struggles for the tech giant.
Tether Opts for P2P
To add to Google’s woes, Ardoino recently revealed plans for the Pear Phone. It will run on Android Open Source Project (AOSP) software, ditching Google apps in favor of peer-to-peer (P2P) alternatives.
Ardoino mentioned several P2P projects in the tweet, such as chat app Keet, the open-source framework Pear that aids developers in building P2P apps, and BitKit, a Bitcoin wallet. These projects all have some connection to Tether. Keet and Pear’s parent company, HolePunch, received a $10 million initial investment from Tether in 2021. Additionally, Ardoino serves as CSO for BitKit’s parent company, Synonym.
While AOSP provides all the core components developers need to build on Android’s base, it differs from Stock Android as it excludes Google’s proprietary suite of software, including apps like YouTube, the Play Store, and features such as voice commands and mobile payments. These are licensed separately to phone manufacturers, enabling Google to generate revenue from the operating system.
The Pear Phone’s deliberate exclusion of Google’s software and services is a significant blow at a time of increasing uncertainty for the tech giant.
Google’s Market Share Slides
Google is experiencing a great deal of uncertainty as its once-dominant position in the search engine market is being steadily eroded. Recent data showed that Google’s share of the search engine market fell to 77.5%, its lowest level since 2009. At its peak, the company typically controlled 90% of the market.
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Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Bing is emerging as the biggest beneficiary of this changing dynamic. Bing’s market share recently increased to 13.1%, its highest-ever position in the search engine market.
In a further sign that all is not well at Google, the company recently announced laying off 200 core employees, to shift the roles to India and Mexico in a bid to meet cost-cutting measures.
On the Flipside
- Crypto phones are typically off the mark, including the Solana Saga, which tech YouTuber Marquees Brownlee called “too niche.”
- Tether is actively diversifying its core stablecoin business.
- Few companies can match Tether’s financial resources.
Why This Matters
This potentially bold move by Tether underscores the growing desire for decentralized alternatives that can challenge Big Tech’s dominance.
Earnings season sees Tether report record-breaking profits.
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