Google is
reportedly going to make some major changes in strategy for its Nexus
devices. According to The Information,
the company is now looking to take greater control over the hardware, and
completely develop the new Nexus smartphones in-house.
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai and representatives had recently expressed
similar intentions for the Nexus series, and emphasized on having more control
on the hardware along with software. Similar to Apple’s control over its devices, Google is aiming to streamline the
user experience among Android-powered devices. Also, it will give Google more
control in rolling out software updates.
With this
type of model, Google may also develop its own processors for Nexus
smartphones. It is important to note that Google’s recent Pixel C tablet is developed completely in-house.
HTC is
widely rumored to be the hardware partner for 2016 Nexus smartphones. However,
according to some reports, HTC isn’t very happy with Google
wanting to have more control. For an instance, Google’s new Nexus smartphone may not come with the HTC logo anywhere on
the device.
Google
had first launched its Nexus smartphone, Nexus One, in 2009. The smartphone was
developed by HTC, and was marketed as a developer device. Later, the Nexus
devices were manufactured by other OEMs such as Samsung, LG, Motorola and
Huawei. Google had also roped in Samsung, HTC and Asus for making its Nexus
branded tablets.
Google
may consider it worth the price. The company still makes most of its mobile
service revenue from iOS devices, which puts it in an uncomfortable position:
Apple could make life miserable for Google if it wanted to. Fully
Google-designed Nexus phones might not only give Android a bigger share of the
high-end phone market (where Apple thrives), but produce a better showcase for
Google services.
The whole
purpose of Nexus program was to work with hardware partners to manufacture
smartphones with top of the line hardware that runs on the latest Android
version. While Google currently controls the Nexus program with the software
update cycle, it seems like Google wants even greater control over it.
With
Google I/O 2016 just three
months away, we should soon find out more details about the upcoming Nexus
smartphones.
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