TL;DR
HTC has been the ‘Collateral Damage’ in the Smartphone Wars at its peak. Having been Google’s Patent pal for the better part of it, makes complete sense for the former to acquire HTC and strengthen its position in hardware as well.
HTC has been a shell of its former self for a few years now and their phones have been struggling to make any kind of impact in the already crowded Android market. But it doesn’t look all that bleak as the company is about to find its savior: Google.
Taiwanese publication Commercial Times reports that HTC is in “the final stages of negotiation with Google to handover its smartphone business unit.” It’s not clear yet whether Google is buying HTC’s entire smartphone business, or transitioning to become a “strategic partner.” The key point to note here is that this is about HTC’s smartphone business alone and does not include HTC’s VR brainchild, Vive, which isn’t under any duress or struggle.
This sale makes sense. HTC built the original Google Pixel and Pixel XL and is scheduled to build the smaller model for the second generation too. The two companies go way back, seeing as HTC built the first-ever Android phone in history.
If this report turns out to be true, Google is likely planning to repeat the Motorola purchase scenario. And if you recall correctly, Google took over and owned Motorola’s overall phone business for just around two years and helped turn the ailing phone business around with the much-acclaimed Moto X series, then sold the company to Lenovo.
Google wasn’t really in the business of manufacturing and selling its phones, so an acquisition of this scale could be more permanent this time around. Plus, wholly owning HTC’s smartphone business could easily streamline the creation of the newer Pixel phone lineup, and might just give Google the edge it needs in the battle against the might of Apple and Samsung.
