Google Android Exec: We Aren't Abandoning Qualcomm

From PC Mag: "We couldn't do it ourselves. We needed partners like you."

Google's head of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, showed up in person at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit to reaffirm the two companies' partnership, shortly after Google appeared to ditch Qualcomm for its own Tensor chipset in its flagship Pixel phones. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon tried to make Qualcomm synonymous with Android on stage at the event. But while Android has always run on more than Qualcomm processors, there's a shift in tone when you make a product that directly competes with your partners.

Lockheimer chatted with Amon on stage, but it was worth paying attention to who was saying what. Amon talked about Qualcomm leading in premium smartphones. Lockheimer tried to keep the focus broader—perhaps to avoid criticizing Tensor or Google's Tensor strategy.

"When we started working on this together, it really was about the phone. And now it's about the phone and all these other devices that surround it, and that all makes up the premium experience as well—the wearable, the hearable, the tablet, all these things. Having all these things work better together becomes part of the experience, and you're doing it," Lockheimer told Amon.

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