The united team will be responsible for implementing artificial intelligence in smartphones and everything running on Android.
The unit will be led by Rick Osterloh, who previously oversaw Google’s hardware efforts, while longtime Android, Chrome, and ChromeOS head Hiroshi Lockheimer will take on «other new projects» for the company.
«Having a unified team across all platforms and devices will help us deliver the highest quality products and experiences for our users and partners», — wrote Google CEO Sundar Pichai. «This will help us to energize the Android and Chrome ecosystems, and bring the best innovations to our partners faster».
The new division also takes over some of Google’s research, particularly that related to computer-generated photography. Pichai adds that he wants the team to live at the «intersection of hardware, software, and AI».
«I am excited to take on this new challenge and accelerate AI innovation in the Android ecosystem. I look forward to strengthening our strategic collaboration with Qualcomm and Snapdragon for Android, not only in mobile, but also in computing, XR and automotive systems», — wrote Osterloh on X.
Google’s development of its own Pixel Tensor chip with Samsung has put the hardware division at odds with Qualcomm, Android’s largest chip partner.
During the presentation of the Pixel 6, Osterloh claimed that Google had been restrained for years in the field of artificial intelligence before it started making its own chips, which was a «explosion» compared to the Qualcomm chips the company had used previously. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon responded to the post — obviously, both executives are publicly gracious.
Source: ArsTechnica