Google’s Schizophrenic Pixel Positioning – Beyond Devices – Medium

Final paragraphs from a pithy Pixel perspective

"In fact, this gets at the heart of one of the main drivers behind the Pixel — Google reasserting control over Android and putting Google services front and center again. I’ve written about this previously in the context of Google’s attempts to do this through software, as exemplified by its I/O 2014 announcements. But those efforts largely failed to reclaim both control over Android and a more prominent role for Google services on Android phones. As a result, Google’s relationship with Android releases has continued to be analogous to that of a parent sending a child off to college — both have done all they can to set their creation on the right path, but have little control over what happens next.
If, though, this is the real motivation behind Pixel (and I strongly suspect it is), then all this stuff about targeting the iPhone and tightly integrated hardware and software is really something of a smokescreen. I would bet Google’s OEM partners can see that pretty clearly too, and for all Google executives’ reassurances that the OEMs are fine with it, I very much doubt it."

Google’s Schizophrenic Pixel Positioning – Beyond Devices – Medium