Google’s New Hardware Strategy: Actually Make Money (Technology Review)

Disruption time in the Android smartphone ecosystem

"Indeed, burgeoning consumer interest in virtual assistants and VR is one reason why Google is revamping its smartphone strategy. The maturation of the smartphone industry is another. Microsoft and BlackBerry’s slumping smartphone businesses have pitted Google and Apple against each other for market dominance. As a result, Google believes it needs a single Android phone that can truly take on the iPhone, and matching the Pixel’s price with the iPhone’s is the company’s way of telling consumers the devices are comparable.

The other relevant change in the smartphone market is that Samsung is the only company that currently manages to make money selling premium Android phones (in spite of its Galaxy Note 7 debacle). Several years ago, Google would have hesitated to release a pricy smartphone under its own brand for fear of alienating its many Android partners. But Samsung’s control of the high-end Android phone market has concerned Google for some time and it likely hopes that the Pixel will diminish this dominance."

Google’s New Hardware Strategy: Actually Make Money