According to a recent rumor, Google may soon release a non-Nexus smartphone with tighter controls over “design, manufacturing and software” before the end of the year.
So far, Google has not made any smartphones. Instead, the company has opened bid to other OEM’s to manufacture their Nexus devices. Although Google does have a say in what they want in terms of features, it is OEMs that control the design of the device.
Now, a report from Telegraph claims that the company is planning to launch their own Android smartphone this year. This allows the company to have control over design, software, and manufacturing from start to end. This new smartphone is not a Nexus device and could simply be the first of the “more opinionated” smartphones the company has planned.
Google already develops Android OS that runs on 80% of smartphones. However unlike Apple, it only develops the OS, while other OEMs make hardware that runs it. While this has allowed Android to gain huge market share, it also made the entire ecosystem heavily fragmented.
For example, Apple’s latest iOS 9 was running on over 80% of iPhones. But, the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow runs on only 7.5% of the device and most of them are Nexus devices. As a result, most of the Android devices are vulnerable to attacks.
If Google start making smartphones, then it gives the company greater flexibility in releasing updates. This could also leads to less fragmentation and more secure handsets.
It seems like Google’s plan might also have some downside. This would also make it a direct competitor to those OEMs as well. Recent rumors suggest that Huawei might be developing “Kirin OS”, an alternative to Android.
Google did not comment on any of the rumors. But we also know that its leadership is not shy of wanting to take the reins. In fact, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has hinted before, that the company will be more “opinionated” about the designs of Android devices. And just last April it hired former Motorola president Rick Osterloh to head its new hardware division, proving it is quite serious in its hardware venture.
If the rumor becomes true, it would change Google’s hardware strategy forever. Please remember that it is a rumor, so take it with a grain of salt.
