Pichai: 2022 Pixel Lineup Is The Payoff For Google's Deep Tech Investments
Google over the past several years has struck a balance between its various services and offering consumer hardware designs, the latter of which has been increasingly expanding (in part through acquisitions). So what does the future hold? Alphabet (Google's parent company) CEO Sundar Pichai made some interesting comments about the company's hardware play, and specifically how it relates to its Pixel lineup.
It starts with Android 12, which is in beta testing at the moment in anticipation of a finalized release later this year alongside the Pixel 6 series.
"Android 12 will, of course, be central to Google's phone devices. I'm very excited by our fall lineup, which will showcase Android 12 and some of the deep technology investments that are helping us push boundaries," Pichai said during a recent earnings call to discuss Alphabet's second quarter financial results.
What that ultimately means remains to be seen, though Pichai talked about Android 12 offering new ways to personalize devices, and delivering "significantly improved speed and power efficiency." That means there is the potential for faster phones with better battery life, two things that do not always go hand-in-hand.
Pichai also mentioned there being new privacy protections built directly into Android 12, including the introduction of a Privacy Dashboard "to help keep information safe and private."
It is not all about the OS though. Naturally, Google will keep refining Android, given that it is the leading mobile operating system with some estimates pegging it as having a 73 percent share of the market. But Google's interest in hardware designs is showing no signs of waning.
"Pixel remains at the heart of that long-term strategy and I’m proud of how the team continues to deliver the best of Google through our family of helpful devices, including Nest and Fitbit. You can see all of these devices at our first retail store in New York City and I'm looking forward to seeing some new ones there soon," Pichai said.
The comments come on the heels of various rumors related to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, due out later this year. What is interesting about those device is they are said to be the first iterations to feature custom SoCs from Google, codenamed Whitechapel.
Just as Apple infuses many of its products with its own custom-designed hardware, Google could be shifting in that direction as well, rather than continuing to rely on Qualcomm's Snapdragon family (and other architectures). Details are rather sparse, though rumors suggest Whitechapel was co-developed with Samsung, which taps both Qualcomm and its own Exynos lineup for its Galaxy devices.
Given the new comments from Pichai, there is plenty of intrigue surrounding the pending Pixel 6 launch. Stay tuned!
