Google is allegedly working on producing a new smartphone it will produce itself, according to a report, with the first release potentially arriving at the end of this year. Rather than relying on a third-party manufacturer to actually produce the devices, a report claims Google is intending to go into hardware production itself, giving it increased control over the overall experience consumers will get to have with the mobile device, instead of just the software that the existing Nexus device range uses.
Up until now, Google has relied upon LG, Huawei, and others to produce the physical hardware for its devices, such as the Nexus tablets and smartphones, while Google had full control over what the Android experience was. According to
sources of
The Telegraph, the Google-branded phone will extend that control into the hardware, something which in theory allows it to make the software and hardware work more closely together, potentially introducing new features that wouldn't usually have appeared under a manufacturer-customized version of the Android ROM.
The report doesn't go into detail about how Google would create the devices, but it is possible it could create its own production lines. Rick Osterloh, former president of Motorola, made the jump over to Google to lead a new hardware division, one which could follow the lead of the
Moto X in creating jobs in a factory based in the United States. It could also potentially go down the route of using an established device producer and their facilities, such as Foxconn and its work producing the iPhone for Apple.
Last month, CEO Sundar Pichai advised Google was "investing more effort" into smartphones, though also advising it would continue supporting Nexus devices. Current rumors suggest HTC is producing the next Nexus smartphone, due for release this year. If it is true, a Google-branded Android device that could also launch this year may undermine HTC's efforts.