Apple has total control of its production of smartphones and now according to a recent report, Google wants the same for its Nexus smartphones.
At the moment Google’s Nexus smartphones are made in partnership with manufacturers, with both Google and the manufacturer being involved in the design process of the handsets.
According to a recent report by The Information, Google wants more control over how its Nexus devices are produced.
The move by Google would reduce the amount of input that manufacturers have with relation to the creation of Nexus devices, the manufacturers would change from a development partner to just a manufacturer, this would be similar to the relationship that Apple has with Foxconn.
With Apple’s iPhones, Apple designs the device, chooses all the parts to build it and then Foxconn assembles the device based on exactly what Apple wants.
If Google went down this route it would give them greater control over their Nexus devices and new devices would only come with Google branding, rather than branding of the manufacturer as well as Google’s.
The reason that Google is apparently considering doing this is it wants to go after the high end smartphone market which Apple currently dominates with its iPhones.
Other manufacturers like Samsung also dominate the high end smartphone market, and whilst these devices run Android, Google has no control over the design of the handsets and also what software customization they get over stock Android.
It would be interesting to see what changes Google would make to their Nexus smartphones by being in complete control and design process of the handsets.
Source Tech Insider, Techmeme