Maybe yes, maybe no.
In turn, the Search Engine Journal post links to a Seth Godin post that perhaps
sheds additional light on the subject. Godin relates that today's browsers "understand"
(perhaps better than today's users), or assume
the www at the beginning of a web address, meaning that it's become superfluous.
On the other hand, he still sees a need for the .com suffix, because
[dot] com uses just four characters to say, "we have a website and this is the address for it." No need to say "our website is" when you can just use four characters instead.
But this "need" exists only if we access the address bar. When we forego
the use of the address bar and use the search box instead, we discover that perhaps
that short addendum, that until now seemed to pack so much meaning, is no longer
necessary.
Go to: Search Rules!