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Are you sure they will still let you unlock the bootloader on a new Google pixel phone? Rumors are they are trying to lock the OS down a little more and have greater control.

I'm just assuming because google has no reason to lock it down aside from the way they have implemented android pay. Would imagine theyd continue to allow users to root and break android pay if they want
 
Nah, Apple is just going to get sharper. I admire their commitment to security and privacy and so do many people I know. Apple will retain those of us who do and who are aware of how much Google tracks its consumers and then strengthen its product lineup to compete better and quell some of the criticism. They responded well in the form of the SE to a few needs and wishes they were overlooking for a time. Competition should just light more of a fire under them. I am thinking it going to look good for us consumers who prefer Apple products. At least I hope so.

Yeah, this was the first thing I thought. Do I want Google to have access to even more data then they already have with what I use? Heck no. I actually value my privacy, even though I know many people don't and will probably flock to Google in droves.

That being said, in the long term I wouldn't at all be surprised if we saw Apple retreat in a similar fashion that we saw with Windows vs Mac, with the people who prefer what iOS has to offer sticking with it while the masses switch. Personally I think it's bad for the industry but we're already seeing a decline with Windows and BB already dropping off to leave two main ecosystems.
 
Rumor has it that MSFT earns more (from patent royalties) on the sale of android devices than GOOG.
That wouldn't surprise me. Motorola might have invented the original cell phone in the 70s, but Nokia shaped the cell phone as we know it today, they own a ton of patents.
 
Are you sure they will still let you unlock the bootloader on a new Google pixel phone? Rumors are they are trying to lock the OS down a little more and have greater control.

Here's the problem with rumors... it's just that..... Lets be real for a min, how many times have we heard Google was going to brand their own device and yet every year, the consumer gets denied that rumor? It has happened every year since the Nexus 5.

Project Ara was going to be the first Google branded device, but they are now just getting that under way and it looks like it will be sold to manufacturers. Project Tango was the other one that was going to be Google Branded only, but now the first consumer based device for Tango is Lenovo's Phab 2 Pro.

I honestly think Google throws in these monkey wrenches to get the tech community talking. It's like LeBron's decision back in 2010. It's rumors until you hear word of mouth. In fact, LeBron going to Miami was found out the day he made the announcement, otherwise it was Cleveland and Chicago that all you heard.

TBH and IMO, it just isn't feasible for Google to manufacture their own device. Over the past 5 years, they have been dominating in the R & D department. I mean, there is no device out there that can handle what Tango can handle today (especially with a $499 price tag). They have the most premier open source IoT framework in Brillo. Daydream will fill in the gap with retina FPS and actual FPS to prevent motion sickness in the VR and they developed a new hardware device for it. Project Ara's first sight of light is later this year by announcement at Google I/O. Android One project is specifically designed for those that can't afford a device but yet want timely updates.

Which leads to this notion, Google focuses on specifics for use cases. Developing the everyday phone removes that focus and puts Google into the big competitive market where they can endure high risk/high rewards. And before anyone says it, the Nexus Phone had it's specific use case as well. Google's original intent for the Nexus device was that they were and still are Development Phones. The phone was originally designed for app developers, kernel developers, and o/s developers.
 
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I was just thinking that exact phrase "they smell blood in the water" and for the reasons you gave. iPhone does have security and the offering of privacy going for it. But the wolves are at the door. Huawei has a former Apple employee overseeing the design of a customized OS. Apple needs to step up its game everywhere it's still got game.

The more I think about this the more looks like the driver is security and updates. My Note 5 (spare device) just got Android 6 and the latest security updates (courtesy of AT&T). Then you have OEM alternative OS rumors. To minimize the potential impact (and to take advantage of the latest Apple quirks) I could see Google having a Google line of devices.

Develop a line and get it out their like any other mobile device (and FI) makes a lot of sense.
 
The more I think about this the more looks like the driver is security and updates. My Note 5 (spare device) just got Android 6 and the latest security updates (courtesy of AT&T). Then you have OEM alternative OS rumors. To minimize the potential impact (and to take advantage of the latest Apple quirks) I could see Google having a Google line of devices.

Develop a line and get it out their like any other mobile device (and FI) makes a lot of sense.

Guy at work has a Note 5. Came out in October 2015, around the same time as Marshmallow. He just got Marshmallow a couple weeks ago. That's almost 8 months for a flagship device to get the latest version of Android. Utterly pathetic.
 
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Guy at work has a Note 5. Came out in October 2015, around the same time as Marshmallow. He just got Marshmallow a couple weeks ago. That's almost 8 months for a flagship device to get the latest version of Android. Utterly pathetic.

And whatever they were doing for that 8 months... they gotta do it all again for the upcoming Android N update.

This is what happens when there are too many hands in the cookie jar.

You've got Google... the hardware manufacturers... and even the carriers getting involved.

Imagine if someone had to wait for Dell and Comcast before they could get updates from Microsoft :)
 
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It was inevitable, really. The open nature of Android has left us with a cesspool of devices running umpteen different versions of Android, many with their own modifications & skins and most of them never getting updates.

This is just Google trying to be like Apple - controlling the hardware AND software and setting up their own personal walled garden. What's funny is this could turn out to be the best Android phone ever made. And it will be the best because it's CLOSED and controlled 100% by Google. Just like the iPhone. Oh the irony.

It's not the same, I assure you.
 
Well, that was foreseeable. Since Samsung is slowly turning their back on Android and -if Samsung succeeds with Tizen- many more are to follow. And this can't happen soon enough. If Google is already reviving the Nexus they've realized and thus confirmed the threat. Good.
Let's recap what Google did with Android: They used their massive ressources to market a (at that time quite terrible) OS -actually as "open source plattform", let it gain some momentum (and by that also eliminate competition) and are now using this position to close the OS. Basically speaking: Android has become almost useless without google play services. However, using those services is not permitted on Dual-Boot Devices and Virtualmachines (again, to eliminate competition -so much for the "open plattform"; obviously it was not enough to make profit from the Play-Store). That (and the pressure on some major app developers to not support competition plattforms) killed BB10 and will likely do the same to Sailfish OS. Those that believed in the open source mobile plattform got used by google and helped killing real open source competition. Well done, google.
Although, it looks like the closing down of the OS is becoming an issue for the average OEM... Consequently, they start looking for better options. In case of Samsung, they already have one ready.

So, if you want to support this, please go ahead... buy Android.
Don't believe me? Good. Ask google. It will tell you. Although, probably not on the first page of the search results.
 
Guy at work has a Note 5. Came out in October 2015, around the same time as Marshmallow. He just got Marshmallow a couple weeks ago. That's almost 8 months for a flagship device to get the latest version of Android. Utterly pathetic.

You prefer updates that cripple your device, then. Interesting.
 
Good. Google has the resources to do this successfully. Having a reference design out their to showcase the OS features will be be good. Similar to Microsoft producing the Surface line up.

Apple needs to realize you can't just make a phone slimmer a a new colors nd expect people to buy new phones. Apple needs to be forced to really innovate.


You are so right... Apple needs to innovate following google's lead and create phones that efficiently scrape and store personal information (locations, interests, browsing history, buying habits, email content, etc) so that users can be targeted with even better ads.

I suspect the New York City district attorney who has more than 270 seized iPhones that can't be accessed would be very happy to have Apple innovate in that direction as well.
 
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HTC or Huawei could be the partner for the actual Google branded device (I suspect Huawei with its already manufacturing system in place with Foxconn).
If Google is releasing a "Pixel" device, then a company like HTC or Huawei will not be involved in the process. Google has already shown they can build hardware with the Chromebook Pixel and Pixel C. Surely if such a Google branded device exists, then the same team at Google will be responsible for it.
 
If Google is releasing a "Pixel" device, then a company like HTC or Huawei will not be involved in the process. Google has already shown they can build hardware with the Chromebook Pixel and Pixel C. Surely if such a Google branded device exists, then the same team at Google will be responsible for it.

Google don't manufacturer those themselves, they still have partnerships to manufacturer them. That won't change with the Pixel phone if one ever emerges, and it will likely be with someone like Huawei or Foxconn
 
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Yesterday's tech like the A9? But I guess this will help Android phones not be saddled with "yesteryear's operating system" ;)

What's Apple's "core business" that they've gotten away from? Aren't iPhones their core business?

I don't expect this to do much to Apple. If anything, Samsung should be worried if Google is able to actually convince the general public to buy them vs. what usually happens with the Nexus line.
Yesteryear's OS? Yeah okay...
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I've only had terrible experiences contacting Google. It's a nightmare.
And I've only ever had amazing experiences using Google's customer service for Nexus devices. Quite the opposite of a nightmare, it actually rivals Apple's customer service.
 
I think we've been here before.
Haven't they just sold Motorola, for a loss?
The problem is: just about how many people will buy these at a premium?
You could argue that Google doesn't need to actually make a profit on these, but it then becomes yet another unsustainable business they close after a few years. Which leads us to the next problem: who in his right mind is going to put up time and materials (money) to produce accessories for a product that may not even be around in two or three years, depending on how long the attention-span of the big G lasts this time.

Then, the Apple Stores are an incredibly steep hurdle to overcome for any competitor. It would take tremendous cap-ex to replicate that model at this point. Online-stores can only go so far with e.g. supporting older people or "having someone have a look" at a device.
Sure, Google online support can do stuff that Apple Care will never be able to do - but most of these cases are very unique and don't really translate well to the needs of Mom and Pop (which form an important demographic for almost all countries where Apple has a bricks-and-mortar store presence).

So, I wouldn't be surprised if this it yet another piece of dirt they're throwing to the ceiling, hoping that it will stick.
Because somewhere, some guy in a Google Lab is already thinking about the next piece of dirt that could be thrown to the ceiling, in the hope that it sticks...

They bought Moto for the patents. Selling the company was very likely something intended.
I suspect they will make a profit. Perhaps not the margin Apple gets. Still, a profit. Premium price though I do not think is the goal.
Will Google go store? I have had to interact with Google customer service over the years. These days, it is very very good. Add a store or embed themselves into a current chain ....

I will say that I have been test driving a Nexus 6P and Google Fi for a few months now and am very pleasantly satisfied with the experience. Even traveling across the US and to the EU.

Will this actually occur? I would not be surprised. It does match fairly well with helping to address the Carrier update issue, bloat, and OEM changing OS rumor. have to wait and see.
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But therein lays the problem. Google doesn't have any real weight to force OEM's and carriers to sort themselves out.

Google are hardly likely to sanction Samsung when it's the prime Android OEM manufacturer especially when they have Tizen in the wings, an OS that can actually run Android apps and it wouldn't take a huge amount of work to transition users over, especially as many users know / think Touchwiz is Android rather than just a skin. Tizen skinned exactly as Touchwiz with the ability to run Android apps ... that would be a bad thing for Google. They won't jeapordise that.

Likewise they are unlikely to force carriers to back off, as one of the main incentives for them to embrace android handsets is the ability to pre-load their own carrier services ...


I guess we should look at the Google branded handset much like the Google Pixel C tablet and Pixel Chromebook. It won't challenge the likes of Samsung, but will fill a niche audience and potentially increase that audience over time.

Actually Google has the "muscle". It is rather how do you employ it?
  • Android "locked" and modifications can be done via OEM or Carrier launchers.
    • Running Nova Prime and a Theme on my Nexus 6P
  • Update directly from the Play Store, not the Carrier.
  • Security updates from the Play Store, not the Carrier.
  • New upgrade rolls out, OEM's and Carriers can market their version of a launcher. Make it beneficial to the user, not intrusive.
Now, how do you roll that out without breaking different markets globally?
 
I don't know if Google has anything cool to offer but I'll say this, if they do: given the likelihood the iPhone 7 is going to be more like the iPhone 6S, rev2, Google's timing is right for the pouncing, much like how the original Sony Playstation mugged the Nintendo 64 (really ended Nintendo's reign as the TV console champ) or how XBOX 360 did the same to PS3 when Sony arrogantly initially overpriced it by including an unwanted, and mediocre, Blu-Ray player. (PS3 was a great console IMHO, but I'm not a gamer. It was just too expensive at launch and lost a lot of marketshare there which it could never recover).
 
74 years old and an Apple addict from almost the beginning, I have owned almost every Mac from the beginning, plus iPods, and most MacBooks. I am heavily invested. I also had a moderate amount of Apple stock. When I recently learned that Tim Cook valued his LGBT lifestyle over his fiduciary responsibility to the stockholders and that he was leveraging Apple against Trump, I decided to dump my Apple stock. Glad I did since BREXIT has accelerated the loss of stock value. I got out at a good time. I am not too fond of Google, but I am seriously considering changing my iPhone 4S, iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 Plus for new Google offering. See, at my age, I do not have to impress anyone by having the latest seemingly mediocre Apple product.
 
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I'm not guessing the future, I'm looking at the past: Motorola under Google.

Also, this is an Apple forum. People here supposedly already have Apple devices. Your argument doesn't stick one bit.
You can't actually compare Motorola under Google, because at the time they didn't really want to compete that hard in the mobile hardware world to not alienate other OEMs.
 
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