Big changes are coming as Google plans to merge its Pixel and Android teams. Alphabet's company is introducing artificial intelligence (AI), and CEO Sundar Pichai announced a major internal reorganization.
He also sent a memo emphasizing that the teams responsible for Android, Chrome, and Chrome OS will be combined with the groups responsible for Pixel hardware and Nest devices. According to 9to5Google, the note reads: “To truly advance computing, we need to do it at the intersection of hardware, software, and AI. That’s why we formalized the collaboration between his DSPA and P&E, creating a new PA called Platforms & Devices. We are assembling a team.”
Sundar Pichai believes that this merger is likely to result in the development of higher quality products. The newly created team at Google will be led by Rick Osterloh, previously vice president of devices and services. Meanwhile, Hiroshi Lockheimer, the company's longtime head of Android, Chrome and ChromeOS, will be responsible for other projects within Google and Alphabet.
Rick Osterloh and Hiroshi Lockheimer spoke exclusively to The Verge to clear the air on the potential internal conflicts that may have led to these sweeping changes. They talked about being friends and colleagues for decades.
Osterloh and Lockheimer also revealed that they had both proposed the idea of a merger to Sundar Pichai two years ago and felt now was the ideal time to move forward with the proposal. did.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/
In the same interview, Rick Osterloh said that Google is restricting its own hardware to prevent Google from granting additional privileges to its devices or complicating its relationships with technology brands like Samsung. We highlighted how we carefully separated our efforts from the broader Android ecosystem. “We've always had a clear team between Android and the ecosystem and partners and partners,” he said. However, Osterloh believes that this reorganization within Google will likely signal the end of his firewall between Pixel and Android.
Speaking to The Verge, Rick Osterloh also emphasized that AI is the main reason behind this massive transformation. “This isn’t a secret, right?”[Consolidating teams] Osterloh further elaborated his point using the example of the Pixel camera. “I think the hardware/software/AI integration has really shown how AI can completely transform the user experience,” he concluded.
At the end of the interview, Rick Osterloh said his priorities haven't changed. The plan, he says, is to make everything faster. This includes updating Google's devices more frequently as AI models improve. He also wants the company to be agile in launching new products, rather than bogging down all processes and bureaucracy.
First published: April 23, 2024, 09:00 IST
