Asked, now answered at the Google event - why, exactly, are they making a phone? Why don't they think their partners can?

Possible: Google is worried about Android fragmentation and VR, and the opening it creates for FB/Oculus to win with a Fire strategy

IMO, all that really matters for Google is reach - as good as possible, on whatever device, Apple, Google or Amazon.

They need reach, but getting just 1 or 2 apps (gmail, maps) on phones isn't enough to feed their data needs or build platform

Control and implementation are important. Android partners can’t innovate or take that path.

I wonder if they've hurt that, by giving OEMs a reason to be scared of working with them. Won't share openly new concepts.

If the future is Google Assistant then they're worried about getting blocked by the defaults of Siri and Alexa.

Ah, but (with respect) you are wrong, and Google admitted as much with today’s announcements. They know the game has changed.

they didn’t give an answer to that

Its not about reach for them anymore, it's about go to market and consumer engagement. Copying Apple model gets them those.

Isn't it a little like trying to be Apple and Google at the same time?

how does their business change? Most of their revenue is still ads, which (I hope) doesn’t fit into conversational interfaces

And yet, sadly, there aren't any Google apps on Amazon devices.

declining reach into the expensive-phone owning market segment could have driven this. Responding with luxury tech ecosystem

Then why not produce at Nexus price-point to get it into more hands? Headset is cheap, but necessary companion phone is not

sounds like the right kind of worry for Google to have ... ?

customer surface area

(oops forgot the question mark "?" )

I think it's the branding manufacturers put on the naked Android. Baffles implementation of newer versions.

imo like any consumer selling company (eg uber, apple, etc) control the surface area / customer contact points

They kind of answered it in an interview with Bloomberg bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

This feels high on word count, but low on persuasiveness.

I don't disagree but, the argument is solely Google services and AI is how this will distinguish itself from OEMs.

Understood, but shouldn't that stuff be part of all Android OEM devices too?

The magic of Google machine learning/AI is the massive data set coupled with the algorithms

this is the answer medium.com/coin-labs/the-…

they are just letting HTC do it and shifting focus to their brand. Not actually making it.

Apple lets Foxcon make the phones. That’s not really the point

maybe we should ask why isn't Huawei doing it instead.

it is the point if HTC is doing the hardware design. Foxconn isn't the designer just the contract manufacturer

Nexus 6p is neat

is "revenue stream" too simplistic? I'm sure they want some sweet hardware money. I bet they'll get good at hardware too.

Mastering hardware feels like a pretty transferable skill too.