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"We are not only the number one company for PCs but also a stronger number three as a company for smartphones due to this agreement," states Lenovo Finance Director Wang Uaymin.

Samsung - the shadow of the empire

The Korean company is the number one manufacturer of devices with Android. Moreover, it dominates the market in an undeniable way. And it has no intention to quit. When Google bought Motorola, the company “sobered down” and started looking for alternatives to Android. It took a leading position in Tizen project, which is an alternative to Google’s operating system. The highly customized devices with Android sold by Samsung began to replace even the more popular operating system, putting a sign of equity between the two: Android = Samsung. This did not appeal to Google and it made significant effort to support the internal competition between the manufacturers of mobile devices with Android. In Nexus series, which is a mix between pure Android and a device produced by a Google partner but sold directly by the U.S. giant, Samsung was replaced by LG.

The relations became even colder after Samsung announced that it would launch mobile devices with Tizen, which would use the same visual appearance used by the Koreans in Android. Thus, the mass and uninformed user would be "tricked" to buy phones with Tizen instead of with Android. Samsung had repeatedly cancelled the premiere of a phone with Tizen, as many analysts had compared the platform with a virtual scarecrow with which Samsung was blackmailing Google.

On top of that, during the tech show, CES, held earlier this month, the Koreans showed a new custom view with which they would offer their mobile products. The new appearance is totally different from that offered by Google and it is very similar to the one used by Microsoft in tablets with Windows.

In this situation, the two companies had either to bury the hatchet or do the opposite. It was clear that both would lose a lot if they broke their relations, so they had sat down and agreed.

Earlier this week it became clear that Google and Samsung would sign an agreement on mutual recognition of licences for the next 10 years. Rumour has it that Google had abandoned Nexus series in return for which Samsung would abandon the new interface reminiscent of a competitive platform. Nexus series will be replaced by the so-called Google edition devices. These devices are identical to the current offers of each company, the main difference being the fact that they come with pure Android and will receive software updates directly from Google. This will ensure that users will be able to use the device of their preferred brand that will have the most current version of Android. As we know, one of the biggest criticisms of the platform is that the drives that use it receive updates with delays and often do not receive any at all. Google guarantees 18 months of mandatory software support.

Why did Google sell Motorola?

Following the agreement with Samsung, Google had apparently solved the core problem and had been able to sell Motorola. This course will allow it to focus on the development of Android, on the one hand and to introduce another big player in the Android ecosystem on the other, thereby ensuring competition and minimizing the possibility of it itself being dependant on the monopoly of a particular company.
 
Google has recently bought Nest company, which has developments related to the so-called smart home. Shortly after the deal with Motorola, it became clear that the team of Nest would become the core of the new hardware company team. Google is turning to projects without competition and it wants to develop future technologies. Motorola team that worked on the Ara project, a design for a modular smartphone that allows the replacement of key components rather than of the entire device as is now, remains part of Google as well. Do you want a more powerful processor? There is no problem! Instead of buying a new phone, you will just replace the CPU. Do you want a better camera? Done! You can change the camera with a few clicks and you have a cameraphone.

The future of Android

It turns out that the operating system is one of Google’s most successful projects. It is clear why the company wants to protect its own creation and develop the project in accordance with its own vision of it. Of course, Google must comply with many factors and overcome many obstacles. For the time being, it is doing this in the best possible way. It is showing flexibility and skills that allow it to satisfy not only its desires, but also those of its partners, and of its users, of course! For the moment, the future of Android is safe and its success guaranteed.