According to Android Police, Google, the company behind the world’s biggest search engine, the most widespread smartphone OS (Android), and the most used map app, is now setting its sights on becoming an “everything app.” This concept, popularized by Elon Musk’s vision for X and fully realized by China’s WeChat, means creating a single application that contains everything needed for daily digital life—messaging, payments, social media, and more. The analysis points out that Google already has all the foundational pieces: Gmail, Google Chat, Google Wallet, navigation, video calls, and its Workspace tools. The key move would be weaving these currently independent services into the main Google app, a currently underused hub. Furthermore, the introduction of AI summaries in Search is seen as a direct play to keep users from clicking away to other websites, and adding direct purchasing capabilities would seal the deal. The article argues Google, with its immense existing power over search, video (YouTube), and mobile operating systems, is alarmingly close to achieving this goal already.
The Western Everything-App Grail
Here’s the thing: the “everything app” isn’t a new idea, especially if you look East. WeChat (or Weixin in China) is the textbook example. It’s not just for messaging. It’s for paying your bills, hailing a taxi, booking doctor’s appointments, and even filing taxes. You basically live inside it. In the West, we’ve seen attempts. Elon Musk‘s whole rebrand of Twitter to X was a loud, messy bid for it. Meta has the pieces—Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp—but its financial tools like Meta Pay haven’t caught on, and its metaverse ambitions flopped.
So why does Google have a real shot? It’s already the starting point for most people’s internet journeys. Search is the ultimate gateway. Now, imagine if you never had to leave that gateway. Your AI assistant (Gemini) answers your questions right there. You can message friends, check your calendar, get directions, and pay for something you just searched for—all without ever opening another app. That’s the endgame. They’re not building a new social network; they’re turning their existing, indispensable utility into a walled garden. A very, very comfortable and convenient one.
Privacy and Power: A Dangerous Combo
And that’s where it gets scary. The article calls Google a “vast and bloated toad” squatting on the internet, and honestly, it’s hard to disagree sometimes. Think about what Google already knows. Your search history, your location patterns from Maps, your purchasing habits if you use Google Pay, your video preferences on YouTube, your emails, your documents. It’s a staggeringly complete profile.
Now, consolidate all that activity into one seamless, in-app flow. The data harvesting potential is mind-boggling. The argument that “Personal Intelligence is private” feels laughable when the entire business model is built on monetizing attention and data. Giving one company this much insight and control over your digital footprint is a privacy nightmare waiting to happen. But would we care? Convenience usually wins.
Can Anything Stop the Google Juggernaut?
So, is this inevitable? The article pins some hope on the “AI bubble popping,” which could slow Google’s roll. It also mentions OpenAI potentially trying with ChatGPT, but suggests its financial instability might prevent it. Honestly, I think regulatory action is the only real speed bump. We’re already seeing antitrust cases against Google’s search and ad tech dominance. The concept of an everything app would be the ultimate expression of that dominance—a single point of failure for the digital economy.
If Google decides which businesses you can easily pay from Search, or which services are integrated, it becomes more than a gatekeeper; it becomes the landlord, the utilities provider, and the town square all in one. We’ve accepted Google’s power in pieces for years. The frog is definitely in the pan. The question is, will we notice the water boiling when it finally stitches all those pieces together into one un-ignorable, inescapable super-app?
