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Alphabet looks to take on iPhone with a Google-branded smart phone

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(Image: Stockfesh)

29 June 2016

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone back in 2007, he boldly proclaimed that the device was a leapfrog product that would take competitors five years to catch up to. As it turns out, Jobs was right.

With the release of the iPhone, many in the smart phone market realised they had to completely rethink the way they envisioned the smart phone experience. Specifically, Google (now Alphabet) completely retooled its Android mobile OS and, as Jobs predicted, Android began to give iOS a run for its money right around the 2012-2013 timeframe.

While the iPhone’s chief competition these days comes from third-party manufacturers that make use of Android (Samsung, LG, HTC etc.), a recent report relays that Alphabet plans to take on the iPhone directly with a Google branded phone of its own.

According to a report in The Telegraph, Google has already engaged in discussions with various mobile operators in order to pave the way for a smart phone release by the end of the year. While we have seen Google partner with various hardware companies for flagship Nexus devices, the new Google smart phone will reportedly be an exclusively Google affair.

“The new device, which will be released by the end of the year, according to a senior source, will see Google take more control over design, manufacturing and software.”

“Its own phone would allow Google to control the software, securing the future of services such as the Google search engine and Google Play app store that run on it.”

If this rumour pans out, it will be incredibly interesting to see how Google’s many hardware partners react to the news. After all, it is one thing for Samsung to compete with LG, but it is an entirely different matter for Samsung to pay Google for Android licensing rights and then compete with Google itself.

 

 

IDG News Service

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