‘Android is not invincible’: What Google is risking by releasing its Pixel smartphone
Analysts say the move further complicates its relationship with its manufacturer partners
Android may be the dominant smartphone operating system (OS) but “it’s not invincible,” according to analysis firm IHS Markit, which argues that Google’s latest Pixel smartphone could risk antagonising manufacturers reliant on the software.
On Tuesday, Google – a subsidiary of Alphabet - held a hardware event in which it launched two smartphones – the Pixel and Pixel XL – a smart home hub called Google Home, a virtual reality (VR) headset, Wi-Fi routers and a new version of its Chromecast streaming device.
The Pixel smartphone runs Google’s Android software and comes with Google Assistant – the technology giant’s digital personal assistant similar to Apple’s Siri, which is also present on its Home hub.
By releasing its own hardware, Google has gone the route of Apple, looking to tightly knit devices and software to create a strong ecosystem. It’s a shift from the strategy it employed with its previous Nexus smartphones where it used the devices to show its hardware partners the capabilities of Android. “This is the final defeat for the operating system licensing model which Microsoft pioneered, and everyone tried to copy before Apple’s iPhone success,” Ian Fogg, senior director of mobile and telecoms at IHS Markit, said in a note Tuesday.
But in taking this route, Google is not so much taking on Apple, but more challenging its partners such as Samsung, LG and Sony, something that could be potentially troublesome.
“Google’s relationship with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like Samsung has always been complicated, but today’s (Tuesday) announcements made it even more so, especially given that Google appears to be aiming both at the premium smartphone and VR headset spaces which Samsung currently dominates when it comes to Android,” Jan Dawson, an analyst at Jackdaw Research, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.