For a strictly software company Google is buying into an awful lot of hardware spaces from streaming sticks to robots and now it has announced Nest CEO Tony Fadell as head of the consumer hardware division.
According to a new report out by The Information the man who most famously designed Apple's iPad is now in charge of Google's hardware development. Currently Google only produces two products including the Chromebook Pixel and Chromecast, but with Fadell's considerable hardware chops that could soon change.
Nest famously made high-end thermostats and smoke detectors but thanks to a recent Dropcam acquisition, it may add security surveillance to its repertoire of smart home gadgets. It's very likely Nest and Google could be planning a connected home just as Google has linked together users' computers and smartphones through Chrome as well as Android.
Fadell himself, meanwhile, comes with the pedigree of being lead designer of the iPod, one of the world's most popular music playing devices.
Mixed medley
Google itself has been looking to help push along hardware more directly. This year the company is rumored to announce its last line of Nexus devices as it moves to a more expansive Android Silver platform.
With this new program in place, Google will have its hand in more than one Nexus smartphone and tablet a year. Instead it could oversee the production of several devices from multiple manufacturers.
Google has also developed Android Wear, a new platform for wearable devices and smartwatches to connect natively with smartphones. Add in Project Ara's ambitious goals to make modular smartwatches and Google's new hardware portfolio could become very fat within the next couple of years.
- Will Fadell and Google drop a hardware bombshell at Google I/O 2014?
Via The Verge
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