Tag: google-htc deal

Google Completes US$ 1.1 Billion Acquisition Of HTC’s Smartphone Division

Google has announced the completion of a US$ 1.1 billion deal with HTC. The deal was confirmed in September 2017 but, it has now passed the requisite approvals and is finalised.

Rick Osterloh (Google) and Cher Wang (HTC)

The acquisition will see the transfer of over 2,000 engineers from HTC. Along with the transfer, the company will also receive a non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property. HTC is retaining its Vive VR division and confirmed that it will continue making smartphones. Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior VP of hardware, wrote:

I’m delighted that we’ve officially closed our deal with HTC, and are welcoming an incredibly talented team to work on even better and more innovative products in the years to come.

As It Happened

This is not the first time that Google has taken charge of the hardware for its smartphone lineup. Six years ago, Google announced a US$12.5 billion buyout of Motorola Mobility. However, after opening a manufacturing plant in the United States, the company decided to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for a fraction of the price it bought Moto for. The takeover made Motorola into a capable smartphone manufacturer and has continued to thrive in the smartphone industry since then.

Google Pixel 2

HTC’s flailing smartphone share and tumbling sales in the past few years made people talk about a possible takeover by Google of its smartphone department while HTC continues its work in the VR industry. In late August, reports emerged that a deal between Google and HTC will be announced by the end of 2017.

This move by the Google to buy off smartphone personnel from HTC could bring the company closer to achieving the hardware/software synergy that has worked so well for Apple and the iPhone. Although HTC and other Android smartphone makers still use off-the-shelf processors and other components in their handsets, the tech giant snatched one of Apple’s chip architects earlier in 2017. This could be an attempt to evolve beyond that and design its own chip.

This acquisition also gives it a huge engineer base in Taipei, Taiwan. That makes Taipei the largest engineering site for Google in the Asia Pacific. In the coming years, it is likely to be the source of new products from the company.

January 30, 2018
HTC Is Working On U11 Plus, May Launch In November

Google and HTC announced a cooperative agreement on 21st September worth US$1.1 billion. According to the deal, HTC smartphone division personnel will start working for Google, giving it control over the hardware as well for upcoming Pixel devices. The statement released by both the companies revealed that the HTC U11 won;t be the last Android flagship by HTC, and iGyaan reported that a new flagship will be released in 2018. Now, a new report by GSM Arena from France reveals that HTC is working on HTC U11 Plus and may launch it in China on November 11.

There isn’t much known about the phone yet. The upcoming HTC U11 Plus will have a codename, Ocean Master. The device is expected have a 5.99-inch 2880 x 1440 px display translating to an 18:9 aspect ratio. The phone will have minimal bezels and look more like a new-age flagship device. Like the HTC U11, the Plus variant of the phone will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset. The HTC U11 Plus is expected to come in two variants – one with 4GBR RAM/64GB storage and second variant which will be a top end version will come with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

The smartphone is expected to have a 12MP rear-mounted camera. On the front, the U11 Plus is expected to have an 8MP sensor. HTC will not jump the dual-camera bandwagon just yet and continue with a single camera at the back just like the U11. The U11 Plus is also expected to be IP68 certified water and dust resistant. It is also said to support Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 and also include the HTC U11 Active Edge feature.

The new phone, whenever it does get launched, might one of the last few smartphones HTC makes as a complete smartphone division takeover by Google seems inevitable.

September 22, 2017
Despite The Billion-Dollar Deal With Google, There Will Be Another HTC Flagship Device

Google and HTC announced a Cooperative Agreement worth US$1.1 billion wherein HTC’s smartphone engineers will work for Google once the transaction is completed. While more details about the deal will be disclosed in the days to come, the press release promptly answered one question everybody had on their minds – Will there be more HTC Android phones? The answer is, yes there will be.

This agreement also supports HTC’s continued branded smartphone strategy, enabling a more streamlined product portfolio, greater operational efficiency and financial flexibility. HTC will continue to have best-in-class engineering talent, which is currently working on the next flagship phone, following the successful launch of the HTC U11 earlier this year.

What the statement means is that HTC will now focus on its most profitable product, which is the flagship smartphones. The HTC U11, though, not the most successful flagship of 2017, still received great reviews and HTC will benefit a lot if it manages to improve on the U11 and come up with a better flagship in 2018. Greater financial operational efficiency and financial flexibility refer to the deal. HTC has been incurring losses for a long time now and with most of its smartphone department personnel now moving to Google’s payroll and the US$1.1 billion from the deal, the company will definitely have more financial resources now to work with.

Considering HTC’s flailing sales numbers and decreasing popularity in the smartphone market, a full-fledged takeover of its smartphone division by Google might be on the periphery. And giving up on the smartphone market and concentrating all its energies on making the Vive VR platform a global success might be the best way forward for the Taiwan-based tech company, HTC. With Google now taking control over the hardware for its upcoming smartphones and companies like Samsung and Apple miles ahead in the smartphone game, the 2018 flagship device by HTC might as well be their last one.

September 22, 2017
Google and HTC Announce US$1.1 Billion Cooperation Agreement

After several reports that Google will take over HTC’s mobile division, Google has just announced a deal with HTC. In a statement released by the search engine giant, Google, the majority of the personnel working in HTC mobile division will now work for Google in a deal worth US$1.1 billion. Moreover, Google will, “receive a non-exclusive license for HTC intellectual property (IP).”

In a statement, Google has said

Google and HTC Corporation today announced a definitive agreement under which certain HTC employees – many of whom are already working with Google to develop Pixel smartphones – will join Google. HTC will receive US$1.1 billion in cash from Google as part of the transaction.

This deal doesn’t mean that HTC will shut shop in its smartphone department. HTC CEO Cher Wang said that this agreement will “ensure continued innovation within our HTC smartphone and Vive virtual reality business.” Google concedes that this deal is a testament “to the decade-long strategic relationship between HTC and Google around the development of premium smartphones.”

The transaction is expected to close by early 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.

This is not the first time that Google has taken charge of the hardware for its smartphone lineup. Six years ago, Google announced a US$12.5 billion buyout of Motorola Mobility. However, after opening a manufacturing plant in the United States, Google decided to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for a fraction of the price it bought Moto for. The takeover made Motorola into an amazing smartphone manufacturer and has continued to thrive in the smartphone industry since then.

HTC’s flailing smartphone share and tumbling sales in the past few years made people talk about a possible takeover by Google of its smartphone department while HTC continues its work in the VR industry. In late August, reports emerged that a deal between Google and HTC will be announced by the end of 2017.

Rick Osterloh (Google) and Cher Wang (HTC)

This move by Google to buy off smartphone personnel from HTC could bring Google closer to achieving the hardware/software synergy that has worked so well for Apple and the iPhone. Although HTC and other Android smartphone makers still use off-the-shelf processors and other components in their handsets, Google snatched one of Apple’s chip architects earlier this year. This could be an attempt to evolve beyond that and design its own chip.

Meanwhile, Google’s two new flagship devices, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are scheduled to be launched on October 4th. The Pixel 2 is made by HTC while the Pixel 2 XL with thin bezels and a tall display is made by LG.

September 21, 2017