Google Discussing Building Phone

The challenges with Android today have been well documented. Google doesn’t directly control the vast majority of Android phones in the world because they are made by lots of different companies with a variety of hardware components. That could put Google’s mobile services at a disadvantage over time.

Not only are Android handset brands preloading non-Google services on phones but the types of apps and services Google could offer in the first place may be limited by the capabilities of certain phones. And getting existing phones updated to the latest version of Android software is also a struggle, often because of reluctance by the handset brands.

Apple, which controls the iPhone’s software and hardware, doesn’t have such problems.

Timing Unclear

It isn’t clear which people inside Google are arguing in favor of building phones or whether there will be a decision any time soon, though Android chief Hiroshi Lockheimer has been party to conversations on the topic, as one might expect. Also, there are lots of ways Google could get more involved in phone hardware besides building a phone from scratch.

We reported last week that Google was getting involved in designing and developing the guts of Android phones, in order to improve the hardware components and making them more uniform. That’s an example of Google working through existing hardware partners, rather than completely turning itself into Apple, to try to make Android stronger.

Google employees have been discussing risks to building a phone, including irking existing Android handset brands, wireless carriers and regulators, who are watching how Google links its services to Android and treats its hardware partners very closely.

In building its own phone, Google may attempt to marry hardware and software in ways that would be different from its existing “Nexus” program.

A Google spokeswoman did not have a comment.

In building its own phone, Google may attempt to marry hardware and software in ways that would be different from its existing “Nexus” program. With Nexus, Google co-develops one or two devices a year in close partnership with brands like LG and Huawei, though those projects are complicated and the brands have plenty of say on the look and feel of the phones. Google helps market and sell those devices, but they are typically only offered online and don’t sell in great quantities.

Google has already gone vertical in its effort to make Android more competitive in tablets, with the “Pixel C” that it designed in-house. But tablets are much easier to build than phones (there’s more room for components, for one), and the tablet market is much smaller than phones. The Pixel C isn’t expected to set the world on fire, in terms of sales.

Still, making its own phone would require Google to plunge into areas outside its expertise, such as overseeing production, developing a supply chain and brand marketing.

And Google has already had a stint in phone manufacturing, through its two-year ownership of Motorola Mobility, which it sold a year ago to Lenovo. That experience showed Google first hand how difficult it is to gain significant market share even with a good product, including one that is tailor-made for emerging markets like India.

Still, Google didn’t take full advantage of Motorola. The Android team kept its distance from the unit in order to not upset other partners.