Why Big Tech Keeps Trying Its Hand at Hardware

Google, Amazon and Microsoft are making lots of new devices, but what they’re really selling are touchpoints

The world’s largest technology companies are selling more devices than ever, but only Apple makes much money doing it.

That harsh reality is unlikely to change any time soon, despite a raft of new gadgets coming this fall from Google, Amazon.com and Microsoft. They include smartphones, smart speakers, tablets, laptops, headphones and even a voice-activated microwave oven. Facebook is getting into the game too with the Portal, a video-chat device that assumes there are still some people out there willing to trust the company...