Based on materials from Android authority
Leaks that precede a product are an inevitable reality in the tech industry. Any leak goes through three stages of existence: the hype, the release of the product itself and the response of competitors. There are accidental leaks, planned leaks, logistic leaks, and many other variations. No doubt leaks help create buzz around the upcoming product. But when the curtain finally rises, they can backfire, greatly diminishing the effect. Sometimes it feels like we all suffer from an overabundance of leaks. Nothing else can surprise us, nothing else takes our breath away.
For example, take the Nvidia Shield TV, which many of us have been looking forward to for years. The Shield will go on sale Monday, but before that, more than a week ago, it briefly appeared on Amazon and then physically on Best Buy shelves this week. Since the full specifications are already known, there is almost nothing left that we would not know about the new Shield. What's there to worry about? We are happy with the release of the product, but sad that there was no surprise for us.
Well, how not to mention the epic that the release of the Pixel 4 has become.
Pixel 4 problem
First, there was an accidental leak of Pixel 4, then the official one, and then a month before the release, full-fledged videos about the device appeared. The airlock opened, and Pixel 4 leaks poured out like a cornucopia, popping up almost every day. Initially, the public appreciated how Google allowed the leaks related to their own phone to appear on social media and how it began to lead the process. But as soon as leaks began to appear, they could not be stopped, and everything became worse and worse. Maybe you didn't want to know anything about the Pixel 4, but you weren't asked.
We are pleased with leaks. We are pleased with all these publications. However, it seems that the leaked story has gotten out of hand. The biggest surprise right now may be that there are no leaks about the product, but not a single major announcement has escaped this fate. Many people with early access will adhere to the NDA, but how many of their peers won't follow suit? And where is the solution to the problem?
Early announcement
Some companies believe that early announcements can be an alternative to leaks. Google even did this with the Pixel Buds 2. They were announced at the Made by Google event, but we still couldn't listen to them and they won't be on sale until spring 2020. Someone at Google proudly said, “Our product was the only one that was not leaked.” The point here is that Google can safely work on bugs and deal with bugs without worrying about someone being noticed with these headphones in San Francisco on the BART or on the streets of Mountain View. As if the cat has already got out of the bag once, it doesn't matter how many times it tries to escape.
Microsoft recently did something similar with the Surface Duo, a foldable phone tablet that won't be available for more than a year. Microsoft says it takes time to resolve the issue of device support for apps with developers. But who prevented from doing this out of sight? An early product announcement is nothing more than an attempt to outplay the leak distributors. And the problem Microsoft is that this is how she added problems to herself. Now she must justify in the eyes of the public this year, filled with hype, speculation and speculation.
Refusal to launch
There is a problem with most new products: the possibilities that geeks fantasize about often outstrip the abilities of engineers, which is disappointing. Moreover, the whole next year Microsoft is forced to maintain our interest in the product, which we have known for a long time. If you think about it, this is a very serious problem, and Microsoft could have avoided it if it hadn't tried to deal with leaks.
The preliminary announcements have one more drawback. When you are separated from a product launch for such a long time, there is a significant risk of failure. Take wireless charging from Apple AirPower, for example. It was announced in 2017, was supposed to be released in 2018, and was completely abandoned in 2019. And it didn't just add Apple PR headaches. The company's sketches were happily used by competitors, not hesitating to profit from it, and what could have been a triumph Apple was a gift for rivals.
Something similar happened with the Red Hydrogen Two project, adjusted for scale, of course. Red's first approach to creating a smartphone was a complete failure, so hardly anyone would be surprised if Hydrogen Two simply didn't do it. But the company chose a different path, and its representatives continued to talk about this project until the last week, when the founder of the company Jim Jennard (Jim Jannard) did not announce his departure from the position of the head and the complete winding down of the entire Hydrogen project.
In both cases, we can say that the desire to hype by showing teasers and a very early announcement did nothing. The hype created and the interest at the exit only led to distrust. Both companies would have found themselves in a much less embarrassing situation simply by keeping silent.
So what can you do?
There is no definite answer to the question of how to deal with leaks, but early announcement is definitely not an option. This option creates as many problems as it solves. But the position of some companies, which this year completely abandoned their product announcements in advance, does not lead to anything good either. The discussion still begins, although its sources are not official statements of the company or interviews.
Leaks will continue to occur until products are instantly shipped from the factory to sellers. As long as there are briefings and demos, as long as people are not robbed of their smartphones with cameras, as long as there is interest from social media, they will be inevitable. The launch day is coming, but everyone already knows the look of the device and most of its characteristics. The industry is trying to hide an awl in a sack with an appropriate result.
However, the attitude of society can affect the situation. If the majority will be more interested in official announcements, if the discussion of the product will shift for a time after its presentation, then announcements will be given more attention than combating information leaks. So the audience can set the tone in this case. What do you think about leaks of information about new devices? Which is more interesting to discuss: rumors based on fragmentary information, preliminary teasers from the manufacturer, or an officially presented gadget? Write in the comments!