Apple and Google are set to face-off as direct competitors in the smartphone wars later this year, according to a new report that claims the search-engine giant is finally preparing to make its own smartphone hardware.
Google has offered a “pure” Android experience for years with its lineup of Nexus phones made by the likes Motorola, LG and Huawei. However, it appears that the company is ready to tighten its control of the Android platform by going toe-to-toe with iPhone by making its own handset.
Discussions with mobile operators on the launch of a Google-branded phone are already underway, reports the The Telegraph.
By making its own hardware, Google will have even more control over what hardware and software makes it onto the device. Even though Android is the world’s most dominant smartphone operating system, the company is supposedly worried about the fragmented Android experience. It’s also hoping to compete with Apple at the high end of the smartphone market where most of the profits are to be had.
“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,” the British newspaper claims.
Despite making its own phone, Google apparently doesn’t plan to kill the Nexus lineup, with this year’s device being manufactured by HTC. But if the Google phone is as big a hit as the company hopes, it might turn its Android allies into rivals.