Google plans to design its own Android chips: report

Google plans to design its own chips for Android but will it be able to work out equations with various OEMs

Google is reportedly planning to develop its own chipset for Android smartphones in order to better compete with Apple

Google is reportedly planning to follow the footsteps of Cupertino counterpart and rival Apple and is in discussion with some microchip makers about developing its own chips for Android phones.

According to a report in Information, Google is working on building its own processors for smartphones. Google hopes designing its own chips would bring uniformity to the Android platform and help its flagships better compete with Apple’s iPhones.

With Android getting out of Google’s own control due to diversification with hardware and OEM partners, this seems to be a sensible option to bring some order into the chaotic Google universe.

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Google believes with its own chips, Android updates can be seeded faster to devices and also it will be easier to enable future additions to every other Android smartphone. Nexus imprint introduced with this year’s Nexus flagships won’t be available to other fingerprint scanner enabled smartphones due to compatibility issues and Google will be able to bridge this gap with its own custom designed chip.

At its October 29 event, Google released the latest version of Android called Marshmallow. But months after its release, Android M commands not more than 0.3 percent market share. In contrast, Apple’s iOS 9, which was released on September 9, stands at nearly 66 percent.

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In simple words, both are mobile operating systems but the adoption rate shows how they differ in application. While Apple controls both hardware and software, Google follows an approach similar to Microsoft’s in the world of PCs.

Google’s Android devices are powered by processors from Qualcomm, MediaTek, ARM, Samsung’s Exynos and even Nvidia. With Android so badly fragmented, Google approaching microchip manufacturers isn’t surprising.

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The larger picture here is who will build the chip that Google recommends? Will it be Qualcomm or Samsung or ARM? If Google chooses Samsung as its partner, what would be the fate of Qualcomm which still powers most flagships including Google’s own Nexus line-up.

With iOS 9 and new iPhones, Apple claims it is seeing a large number of Android flagship users switching to their platform.

With Android, the trouble for premium smartphone users is the long wait for update, security concerns; issues that Apple takes care of on its own.

Now the report indicates that Google wants to put an end to the whole fragmented experience of the Android ecosystem by focussing on its own chip. How Google will work out equations with other OEMs remains to be seen.

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