Stop and ask: Why does Google need hardware?

The relatively minuscule sales of the company's homegrown gadgets like the Pixel smartphone and a tablet computer limit the spread of its best ideas

So many internet and software companies make gadgets now. Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Facebook all make some type of internet-connected computing gear. Even Uber has started to engineer its own electric scooters. 

The one thing all these newcomers have in common is that their hardware businesses are irrelevant. That’s important to remember with Google’s introduction on Tuesday of the latest in its growing line of gadgets, including a new model of its Pixel smartphone, a tablet-like computer and a voice-activated video screen for the home. 

A central fact gets lost in the hardware hype at Google, Amazon and other tech giants: These