Google is preparing an Oct. 4 announcement, when the company is widely expected to reveal a second-generation Pixel phone that will go toe-to-toe with Apple's iPhone 8, and later the iPhone X.
Reports are emerging from China that a deal that would result in Google taking a controlling interest in — or buying out completely — HTC's struggling smartphone business.
Google's second generation of its Pixel smartphones may arrive a few weeks after Apple launches its iPhone, with one prominent leaker claiming the search giant will unveil the mobile device during an event on October 5.
Google has reportedly recruited Manu Gulati — formerly a key Apple chip designer — to become its lead system-on-chip architect, working on components for future Pixel smartphones.
Apple's lead in mobile performance—powered by the efficiency of iOS 10 and the computational speed of its custom A10 Fusion Application Processor—beats the newest, leading premium Androids in a wide range of tests from processor and 3D benchmarks to real-world device startup and app launching and multitasking. Not even 6GB of RAM and the extra cores of Qualcomm's fastest Snapdragon 835 can prop up the laggard, inefficient Android OS.
Google is reportedly in talks to invest over $876 million in LG Display to secure a source of OLED panels, likely for its Pixel phones — perhaps signalling more intense competition with Apple's iPhone, as well as third parties using Google's Android operating system.
Riding off the success of its first self-designed phone, the Pixel, Google is at work on a second-generation model that will continue to challenge Apple's iPhone in the "premium" smartphone market, the company's hardware chief revealed on Friday.
In a meeting with journalists at Mobile World Congress, Google's senior Vice President of hardware Rick Osterloh reportedly described the "end of the line" for the company's premium notebook bearing the Pixel brand, after shipping just two editions of the product since 2013.
Google is having a hard time matching production to demand for its rival to Apple's iPhone 7, the Pixel — and particularly 5.5-inch Pixel XL models, according to a report.
Google's latest effort to show off its vision for "Pure Android" hardware costs the same as Apple's iPhone 7 Plus but is half as fast, lacks Optical Image Stabilization, a telephoto lens, weather resistance, support for wide color gamut and stereo speakers.
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Roger Fingas
Mike Wuerthele
Malcolm Owen
Daniel Eran Dilger
