HTC makes great Android phones but has been slipping as of late when it comes to the company’s strategy and other very important decisions. This has resulted in the company reporting declining financials, with no other path but to let it get acquired by Google for a deal worth $1.1 billion.
Today, the Taiwan Investment Commission approved of the deal, resulting in HTC finally being a part of Google now. Back in September, Google and its employees expressed excitement over bringing the smartphone’s hardware team on board and shortly after that, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL came into existence.
“We’re excited about the 2017 lineup, but even more inspired by what’s in store over the next five, 10, even 20 years. Creating beautiful products that people rely on every single day is a journey, and we are investing for the long run.
That’s why we’ve signed an agreement with HTC, a leader in consumer electronics, that will fuel even more product innovation in the years ahead. With this agreement, a team of HTC talent will join Google as part of the hardware organization. These future fellow Googlers are amazing folks we’ve already been working with closely on the Pixel smartphone line, and we’re excited to see what we can do together as one team. The deal also includes a non-exclusive license for HTC intellectual property.
In many ways, this agreement is a testament to the decade-long history of teamwork between HTC and Google. Together, we’ve achieved several mobile-industry firsts, including the first ever Android smartphone, the HTC Dream, also known as the T-Mobile G1 (I loved mine!); as well as the Nexus One in 2010, the Nexus 9 tablet in 2014, and the first Pixel smartphone just last year.
It’s still early days for Google’s hardware business. We’re focused on building our core capabilities, while creating a portfolio of products that offers people a unique yet delightful experience only made possible by bringing together the best of Google software—like the Google Assistant—with thoughtfully designed hardware. HTC has been a longtime partner and has created some of the most beautiful, high-end devices on the market. We can’t wait to welcome members of the HTC team to join us on this journey.”
It does not appear that Google is going to be getting rid of HTC because the latter confirmed that it would continue to make smartphones in the near future with the same brand that it has been using for several years now. At the same time, Google will be taking advantage of HTC’s expertise on possibly how to make devices better to improve against future flagships like the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, iPhone X Plus, LG G7 and countless other models said to penetrate the phone market in 2018.
HTC might learn a thing or two along the way, like how to make a phone that gets nearly all the features for the buyer without making too many compromises while also selling the handset at a competitive range.
