The Telegraph in the UK have reported that Google are looking in producing their own smartphone. This is different to what we have been used to as the Android creators previously left the manufacturing to other huge names like Samsung, HTC and so on. We also have the Google branded “Nexus” series which again saw the handsets being manufactured by someone else other than Google. This move will see Google move towards a Apple style approach to development, which in the long run means we might get updates quicker in particular security updates. It is expected that if a Google handset is to emerge, it will be out at the end of this year.
The wide range of devices out there and increased inconsistency with the Android platform, leaving a large number of users vulnerable and at risk due to problems getting updates from the various vendors. Here is a snapshot from a study by NowSecure.
“They are concerned that Android is fragmenting, that it needs to become a more controlled platform,” said Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight. “I think they’ll seek to control it more, more like Apple.”
To strengthen the rumour, Chief Executive, Sundar Pichai said last month that Google were “investing more effort” into phones. We look forward to seeing if the rumours come true.