To Counter iPhone Popularity, Google Reportedly Doubling Down On Investment In Its Own Hardware

The popularity of Apple Inc.'s NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhones among smartphone users is reportedly worrying Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google to such an extent that the tech giant is thinking of taking a big gamble.

What Happened: Google is planning to double down on its hardware, including its Pixel phones. It was prompted to take this step as the search engine was concerned about Apple winning the market share from Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd SSNLF, reported The Information (via 9To5Mac), citing an internal document.

Though the document indicates that Google has no intention to reduce its support for Samsung, it does believe that the once-dominant Android smartphone manufacturer is struggling to compete with the Cupertino-based tech giant.

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The document also stated that U.S. antitrust regulators scrutinized Google's search deal with Apple. The deal might end up hurting Google's search position in the Safari browser on iPhones, states the document.

These two developments threaten Google's mobile advertising business and have prompted the tech giant to double down on investment in its own hardware. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is reportedly behind this decision. 

Why It's Important: Last year, Pixel phone sales totaled just 4.5 million against 230 million iPhones. The report noted that Google might be pinning its hopes on the pricing factor as its latest models are cheaper than Apple's current line-up.  

Apple dominates the smartphone market in the U.S. In the June quarter, iPhone's share of the U.S. smartphone market reached the 50% mark. The remaining half was covered by Android operating system-powered smartphones, including Samsung and Lenovo Group Limited LNVGY. 

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