Why Google is getting out of Android

[G+_Clément Roux]

Originally shared by hari jayaram

 

Why Google is getting out of Android

 

Well here is one along the lines of worthless speculation and to be filed under the category of #linkbait.

 

Google has really decided to hunker down and focus on its core competencies:search and services, on  both mobile and desktop. Owning Android contributes very little to making money offAndroid. Androids been very messy and in many ways "un google-y" from its code base to its design and execution. Its come a long way in its "google-ification" but when you really think about it ..the OS had nothing to do with it. Its the google services that were behind it all. Owning Android never was easy and Google may just let it go.

 

 

Think  about it : on the majority of mobile systems , google's owning Android has very little to do with the handsets ability to make google money.  The fact remains that an iOS device makes google as much ( and probably more) money than an Android device. Google has tried to make money from Android with the play store, play music , play books etc. But most of these offerings once again dont depend on Google owning Android. For evidence see the Amazon app store that makes Amazon money and the many non-American app stores that feed the global Android ecosystem.

 

Google has had a lot of fighting to do to keep the Android party going. The lawsuit with Oracle, the billions in patents purchased from Motorolla. The omnipresent threat of "thermonuclear war" from Apple. The dangling sword of Apple lawsuits on its number one Android handset maker. The fact that every Android handset maker has launched a new OS in the last few years. Each of these a source of pain for Google for something that at the end of the day is not absolutely necessary to make Google money.

 

And plus Google has always been into Google-y things..the moonshots..Android has now become more like the trucks of Steve Jobs's metaphors..and although you need a truck to drive on the surface of the moon when you get there..its only once you get there that you need it.

 

As a final point is the turbulence in the Android ecosystem from inside google. The departure of Andy Rubin to head the robotics push at Google. Sundar Pichais taking over coinciding with the emergence of many things Chrome. The interesting branding where the Chromecast runs Android but is called the Chromecast, the emergence of Chromebooks as viable and very Google-y computing machines , the port of Chrome apps to run on iOS. The near death linger of the Google TV platform. The departure of Hugo Barra to Xiaomei and finally todays sale of Motorolla Mobility to Lenovo.

 

Bottomline : Google will put its money behind the next big OS. It will not be built on Dalvik or the JVM. It will be a true moonshot built on something that will be very Google-y ( Go ? , angular/dart pure html5 a la Mozilla) .  Android has always been a passing fad at Google. It did pour its heart and soul into getting to the kit kat release. But it is nearing the end of the road for Android and Google and todays sale of Moto-Mobility is just one more signpost on Androids road to becoming a truck..not very google moon-shot-y but a nice feather in their cap that we will remember the 2010's by.

 

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/116899029375914044550/albums/5974445083385439729/5974445087837251154

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/116899029375914044550/albums/5974445083385439729/5974445087837251154

[G+_Tommy King]

Wtf are u talking about? They are not getting out of Android, they are getting rid of a devices company.

[G+_Tommy King]

One more thing, getting out of android would significantly hurt their ad business.

[G+_James Karaganis]

Google just released the preview of a Toolkit to allow Chrome apps to run on Android.

[G+_vinay moharil]

Somehow I just don't think today's deal is any sign of Google wanting to get out of Android. There will be some merges/convergence between Android and ChromeOS (now that Rubin and Barra are not around Android). However, I think the speculation was ripe right from the beginning that all Google ever wanted was patents and they got to keep the patents that matter. I don't think Google was ever really interested in being a device manufacturer. Also selling off Moto releases the OEM pressure from Samsung and others in terms of potential nepotism from Google. Google needs Samsung and others to continue on Android more than Google needs Moto.

 

In addition, the fact that Moto was bleeding money did not help either.

[G+_hari jayaram]

Tommy King, Aaron Newcomb, It is wild speculation ..but just wanted to get the point that Google does not NEED Android. I agree they just got rid of a company they acquired for patents and it is a tad ridiculous to suggest that this points to Google jettisoning Android...but all said and done I do feel there are quite a few signs that the Android fire is smoldering. I do feel Google will come out with an OS built on The Linux kernel with a new layer on top for mobile...or that may well be chrome OS with some amazing JavaScript html5 hardware optimization a baked in..and may not be Android as we know it today.

[G+_Uncle Joe (Uncle Joe Hi]

hari jayaram "I do feel Google will come out with an OS built on The Linux kernel with a new layer on top for mobile"

 

Why? That's what Android is. They could simply come out with a revamped Android.

 

Wild speculation is putting a little mildly. Android has an install base that dwarfs Chrome OS by a factor...it's like Windows XP was to BeOS. So you think they're going to drop Android for an OS with a user base that's still niche and has NO phone capabilities at the moment. Don't think so. If anything, it would behove them to think about ditching ChromeOS for Android. Though I doubt they're doing that either.