--- title: Google Calls the IPhone a One-Note Piano in New Ad description: Google wants to tout the versatility of Android phones canonical: https://time.com/4227196/google-iphone-one-note-piano/ author: Victor Luckerson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-17T15:03:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:08:53.553Z article:section: Business og:title: Google Calls the iPhone a One-Note Piano in New Ad og:description: Using a flexible operating system like Android makes you a virtuoso, Google argues og:url: https://time.com/4227196/google-iphone-one-note-piano/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Google Calls the iPhone a One-Note Piano in New Ad twitter:description: Using a flexible operating system like Android makes you a virtuoso, Google argues twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Google Calls the iPhone a One-Note Piano in New Ad by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Feb 17, 2016 3:03 PM CUT by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Feb 17, 2016 3:03 PM CUT Google wants to tout the versatility of Android phones, so they’re contrasting them with the uniform iPhone line. In an ad aired during the Grammys, a pianist plays a traditional piano in a rousing composition that makes use of many of the instrument’s 88 keys. Then, he plays a second piano that’s been reengineered to play a single, grating note. You can be a virtuoso with an Android phone, Google seems to be saying, while the options with the iPhone are much more limited. Google’s argument that the iPhone is a one-trick pony may hold less water if Apple really unveils a 4-inch smartphone next month. The new device is rumored to be part of the company’s mid-March event. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4227196/google-iphone-one-note-piano/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4227196/google-iphone-one-note-piano/"},"headline":"Google Calls the iPhone a One-Note Piano in New Ad","datePublished":"2016-02-17T15:03:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:08:53.553Z","description":"Using a flexible operating system like Android makes you a virtuoso, Google argues","url":"https://time.com/4227196/google-iphone-one-note-piano/","keywords":["Advertising","Apple","Google","Media","Android","iPhone"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/advertising/","name":"Advertising"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4227196/google-iphone-one-note-piano/","name":"Google Calls the iPhone a One-Note Piano in New Ad"}}]}] ```