No, we are not talking about the much-anticipated upcoming HTC – Nexus smartphones, this is about Google phone. Yes, A Google smartphone as suggested by the Telegraph in its article published today.
Also read: 8 Most Important Announcements From Google I/0 2016
In a bid to gain greater control over the hardware, design, and software associated with Android ecosystem, Google is mulling over launching its own smartphone by the end of the 2016.
Google, in the past has collaborated with the OEMs such as HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola and Huawei for Nexus devices, which demonstrate company’s own Android vision. However, with Nexus devices Google’s role is only limited to software. Manufactures usually control hardware and services. This is what Google aims to change with its rumoured upcoming smartphone, where everything will be directly controlled by the search engine giant.
Also read: Google now wants to design Android phone chipsets for better control
Today, the major chunk of smartphone market is dominated Google’s Android platform. Four out of five smartphone are currently running Android across the globe. However, despite having major market share under its belt, Google has no control over software updates as manufacturers’ takes ages to update from one version of Android to others, because of a number of viable reasons.
This leads to fragmentation, and end consumers often don’t have access to Google’s latest services till its already been an year or more. For instance, Android Marshmallow was launched last year and most users are yet to taste features like Now on Tap or Direct Share as most smartphones are still shipping with Lollipop.
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In all likeliness, Google will continue to offer Android as an open source to OEMs. However, if Google comes out with its own smartphone, if will definitely give Google an edge over other smartphone manufacturers.
