A previous report from The Information revealed that the Google’s Pixel division is selling less smartphones with the launch of each new handset. The details from the report also included information about Rick Osterloh’s dissatisfaction with the Pixel 4 line’s battery.
However, even though the Pixel doesn’t seem to be hitting the sales targets Google hoped it would, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai says the company will continue to work on smartphone hardware. During an interview with The Verge, Pichai discussed the company’s hardware pursuits at length.
“The last couple of years have been a major integration phase for us because we’ve combined our Google hardware efforts with Nest. We absorbed the mobile division of HTC. So it’s been a lot of stitching together. And we have a wide product portfolio, too. So it’s definitely been a building phase. We’re super committed to it for the long run. Hardware is hard. And it definitely has components, which take real time to get it right, thinking about underlying silicon or display or camera or any of those tacks. And so we are definitely investing in it, but that timeline. I think we’ve made a lot of progress. Pixel 3A last year was one of our highest NPS-rated products ever, and definitely even benchmarked outside. So to me, it’s a clear indication we have made a lot of progress.”
Pichai also spoke about why Google makes its own Pixel line of devices and doesn’t leave Android device manufacturing solely to Samsung and LG. To break it down, there are three key reason reasons.
The first is simply “to drive computing forward,” said Pichai. The second is to guide the Android ecosystem, and the third is “to really build a sustainable hardware business.”
“I think all of it is important, and that’s how I think about it. And I’m excited. Rick [Osterloh] and team, working closely with Hiroshi [Lockheimer] and team, they have that long-term view. So we’re pretty committed to it,” said Pichai.
The Pixel 4a, the tech giant’s lower-cost Pixel 4 device, is expected to launch on June 5th. Based on leaks, the handset aesthetically looks a lot better than the Pixel 4 XL.
Source: The Verge
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