Uh Oh, it looks like Google's hardware team might be in trouble



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Photo: Alex Cranz (Gizmodo)

In recent years, Google has deepened its hardware business with products such as Pixelbook, Pixel Slate, several Google homes, and, of course, Pixel phones, with the latter benefiting from a significant boost. through the acquisition of technologies by Google. and HTC staff last year.

However, according to a source who spoke to Business Insider, plans for future Google hardware might be compromised after "dozens" of Google's "Create" division employees were asked to temporarily look for new roles in Google. other departments of society.

The main goal of Google's hardware reorganization seems to be centered around the group of laptops and tablets of the company, the source of BI claiming that although Google already has "a lot of things in preparation" , several products may be delayed or canceled due to "roadmap reductions". As part of the company's plans to "reduce the portfolio".

It appears that the majority of employees affected by downsizing are hardware engineers, product managers and related support staff. After being informed of these changes in the past two weeks, these "floating" workers were looking for positions in Google's smartphone department or another. Alphabet, like Nest.

However, with Google refraining from firing employees or removing their posts, Google seems to be cautious while giving itself the opportunity to later reinstate its investment in hardware.

This report may not be surprising for Google users, because despite the publication of ambitious devices such as Pixelbook and Pixel C, there has always been a major problem that has prevented these gadgets to remain attractive.

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With the Pixel C, Google has tried to re-imagine what could be a 2-in-1 laptop by designing a removable tablet that connects to its keyboard dock via a tilting magnetic flap that works a bit like a rollover. But with the Pixel C limited to Android and not to Chrome OS, like the more modern convertibles based on Google and equipped with a buggy keyboard and often uncomfortable, Pixel C was poorly prepared at the time to face the competition. products like Surface 3.

After Pixel C, the Pixelbook, which was widely regarded as one of the best and most luxurious Chromebooks ever made. However, with a starting price of $ 1,000 (which has not dropped since the release of the Pixelbook in the fall of 2017) and a basic storage of only 128GB, the PixelBook often felt short of value compared to Windows-based laptops (though it's often on sale and represents a transaction of $ 800 or less).

And then there was the Pixel Slate, which seemed to be a welcome alternative to the Apple vanilla iPad. Shortly after its launch, however, many users reported performance issues, especially when using the device in portable mode, which required Google to address the delay later via software updates. .

That said, even if Google seems to slow down its hardware version projects, it does not seem to give up the creation of gadgets. And if this change means we're getting fewer devices overall in exchange for more high-quality gadgets, that's probably a good thing.

[Business Insider]

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