It is a known fact that those who wish to buy any premium Android smartphone are always enticed by the dark side of the smartphone world. Yes, I’m talking about Apple iPhone.
iPhones have always been able to garner more interest than any Android flagship till date. One reason for this is the fact that unlike other smartphone makers Apple only launches just one or two smartphones in a year.
Though I’ve never been an iPhone fanboy for a number of reasons, their outrageous pricing being the first, I’ve always admired the aesthetics, build quality, and the performance of Apple iPhones.
Now after all these years, Android flagship phones have almost caught up with Apple in terms of aesthetics, build quality, and performance. But Android phones are still plagued by one major issue which troubles a lot of developers and prospective buyers. It is the fragmentation and the software related issues.
It is because of the fragmentation that many apps and games are launched for iOS first and some are even iOS only applications. Different Android smartphones have different hardware and software customizations making it very difficult for app developers to test their apps on all of these popular Android devices. As a user, you will also find that some apps might not run smoothly on your expensive Android smartphone.
Apple iPhone Vs. Android Smartphones
If you visit the market and ask for the best phone, then the chances are that the retailer will most likely suggest you an Apple iPhone or in some cases, a Samsung Galaxy phone.
The same phenomenon can be observed in the rest of the world as well. As per the latest reports, iPhone converted 27% of Android users in major European Markets.
What’s Google’s Plan of Action?
Google is now considering Apple’s strategy of having tight control over the hardware and software of its phones. It is now planning to co-design its own application processors and camera chips for its Android lineup.
This move from Google will not only bring uniformity in the Android devices, but will also help tackle of the problem of fragmentation in Android. As per the report on The Information, Google has also discussed this with various microchip makers.
According to the report, Google representatives also put forward the chip designs that it wants to develop. If implemented these new chips will bring in tons on new high-end features on Android smartphones including augmented and virtual reality.
Google will definitely need some big chipmaker like Qualcomm or Intel or MediaTek, or even Samsung to pull this off. However, signing up with these players may not be an easy task.
Now that we know that Google is planning to exercise tight control over its Android smartphones, many phone makers might not like it and thus will continue to make their own Android phones without worrying about Google’s recommendation. And that’s why we expect these new hardware chips to feature in the ‘Nexus’ device lineup first.
Source: The Verge