Google may pump $876M into LG Display to compete with likes of Apple iPhone in OLED

Posted:
in General Discussion
Google is reportedly in talks to invest over $876 million in LG Display to secure a source of OLED panels, likely for its Pixel phones -- perhaps signalling more intense competition with Apple's iPhone, as well as third parties using Google's Android operating system.




A deal has yet to be reached and LG Display has refused to comment publicly, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said on Monday, citing industry sources. If an agreement is signed, however, it's expected to reduce Google's dependence on panels from Samsung, and allow LG Display to further its goal of shifting away from LCD.

Google's first-generation Pixel phones already use AMOLED, and have had mild success. The company is preparing a second generation for launch later this year, and might even take advantage of foldable OLED in future models. Apple and Microsoft are also said to be early clients for LG's foldable screens, which should enter mass production next year.

In the meantime, the "Pixel 2" will likely compete with three new iPhones coming this fall, including the "iPhone 8," Apple's first-ever OLED model. The company is thought to be sourcing 5.8-inch curved OLED panels from Samsung, with roughly 0.7 inches of that space being dedicated to virtual buttons.

Samsung is a frequent rival of Apple, and appears to have beat the latter to the punch in some ways with the Galaxy S8. At the same time, it's also the only supplier capable of producing OLEDs on the scale Apple needs.

Other "iPhone 8" features may include wireless charging, iris and 3D facial recognition, and possibly a True Tone display like the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    This could mean that Google is aiming to become a really serious phone maker. The others who produce Android devices will more than likely have to consider if they want to fight Google or not.
    If Google does go hell for leather and start selling Pixels by the million then even Samsung might not feel very happy about the competition.
    All might not be very hunky-dory in the android world.

    I see Google as a credible threat to Apple but I'll never go down the Android route simply because of their need to suck the life out of everyone (in terms of Data).

    2old4funRacerhomieXwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 24
    This could mean that Google is aiming to become a really serious phone maker. The others who produce Android devices will more than likely have to consider if they want to fight Google or not.
    If Google does go hell for leather and start selling Pixels by the million then even Samsung might not feel very happy about the competition.
    All might not be very hunky-dory in the android world.

    I see Google as a credible threat to Apple but I'll never go down the Android route simply because of their need to suck the life out of everyone (in terms of Data).


    I don't think Google would ever become a serious phone maker. They are making it for 5+ years as a hobby, without any seriousness or success whatsoever to show for. And they are NOT an independent (to a large extent) OEM like Samsung or LG. They are very much dependent on HTC/Huawei/LG/Asus to make smartphones for them. They would not even pose a challenge to Samsung in premium smartphone sales, forget about apple.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 24
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,717member
    Doesn't google earn from ads/data connected to android devices? So when they should start fighting android competition this would only make sense if they would be able to compensate potential losses through earnings on their devices. Hm....
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 24

    I don't think Google would ever become a serious phone maker. They are making it for 5+ years as a hobby, without any seriousness or success whatsoever to show for. And they are NOT an independent (to a large extent) OEM like Samsung or LG. They are very much dependent on HTC/Huawei/LG/Asus to make smartphones for them. They would not even pose a challenge to Samsung in premium smartphone sales, forget about apple.
    +1 Google can't even keep 128GB pixel phones in stock.  They should get out of the phone business all together.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 24
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    This could mean that Google is aiming to become a really serious phone maker. The others who produce Android devices will more than likely have to consider if they want to fight Google or not.
    If Google does go hell for leather and start selling Pixels by the million then even Samsung might not feel very happy about the competition.
    All might not be very hunky-dory in the android world.

    I see Google as a credible threat to Apple but I'll never go down the Android route simply because of their need to suck the life out of everyone (in terms of Data).


    I don't think Google would ever become a serious phone maker. They are making it for 5+ years as a hobby, without any seriousness or success whatsoever to show for. And they are NOT an independent (to a large extent) OEM like Samsung or LG. They are very much dependent on HTC/Huawei/LG/Asus to make smartphones for them. They would not even pose a challenge to Samsung in premium smartphone sales, forget about apple.
    Short sighted. Google can male LG to compete against Samsung producing OLED for not only Pixels but rest who makes Android phones ? Google still king of on-line search and adv but slowly and surely, others like Facebook,Snap,etc. encroaching on Google's turf. So, Google now wants to imitate Apple controlling OS and phone hardware.
    edited April 2017
  • Reply 6 of 24
    jdgazjdgaz Posts: 403member
    Have not done a google search in 2 years or more. DuckDuckGo works just fine.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 24
    freeperfreeper Posts: 77member
    This could mean that Google is aiming to become a really serious phone maker. The others who produce Android devices will more than likely have to consider if they want to fight Google or not.
    If Google does go hell for leather and start selling Pixels by the million then even Samsung might not feel very happy about the competition.
    All might not be very hunky-dory in the android world.

    I see Google as a credible threat to Apple but I'll never go down the Android route simply because of their need to suck the life out of everyone (in terms of Data).

    Google has sold 2 million Pixels to date. That far outstripped the sales of their Nexus devices. They could have sold as many as 4 million if:

    A) it were not a "Verizon exclusive" (the Pixel can be used on all carriers, but Verizon was given exclusive rights to promote and sell the phone and offer it on contract basis, otherwise you had to buy it from vendors, and usually full price upfront unless you signed up for Google's payment plan)

    B)  if Google/HTC had been able to keep the device adequately stocked, especially the more popular models. Some people got sick of waiting to buy the thing and just bought something else. Even now the device is listed out of stock on the Google Play Store, so I bet that not a few folks have signed up for the Galaxy S8 pre-orders instead. 

    C) had the phone's base device not been the failed HTC One M9, a device that is both smaller than the 5.2'-5.5' average for most Android flagships and was merely "meh" in terms of hardware design and features, because HTC failed to meaningfully update their successful and groundbreaking HTC One M7 device (some say due to lack of R&D funds for the smallest by far of the smartphone manufacturers). HTC doesn't even sell their HTC One M line anymore - it has been supplanted by the HTC U - so the device not only had the same SOC, amount and type of memory, basic specs/look/feel etc. of a ton of other devices but cost a lot more than nearly all of them. Had Google come up with their own unique hardware design - or based it on a more popular phone like the Huawei Mate 9 or the OnePlus 2 (obviously basing it on a Samsung Galaxy is out of the question) - then it would have attracted people who wanted more than merely "the Google software/ecosystem experience" which really was its only selling point. By contrast, the Nexus 6P offered much more exciting hardware/design, was MUCH BIGGER (5.7') and only cost $499 for the base device as opposed to $650. 

    As far as Google's relationships with their OEMs ... please do not overplay this. First off, if Microsoft's OEM partners did not jump ship when Microsoft came out with the Surface line, there is no reason for Google's to do the same. Instead, HP, Dell, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Lenovo and the rest ... came out with their own versions of the Microsoft Surface. Some of which cost substantially less AND are better devices. Expect that to continue. Also, it is not as if Google's OEM partners have much of a choice. They can either compete with Google's boring hardware, overrated software/ecosystem experience and overpriced devices (seriously, compelling phones from Asus, Motorola/Lenovo and the aforementioned Huawei and OnePlus cost $200-$300 less) or ... not sell smartphones at all. Windows Mobile is dead, as is webOS, Firefox OS, Ubuntu Touch, Sailfish etc. and Tizen remains Samsung's pipe dream/"leverage" against Google. Another thing: the Pixel is only really going to be sold in North America and a few other markets. Other than Samsung, most of Google's "competition" has very little presence in North America and sell most of their devices in South Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan and India, in addition to the EU countries of course plus whatever they get elsewhere in the world. Google has a long way to go to before they become a truly global hardware company and everyone knows it. 
  • Reply 8 of 24
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    Don't worry Samsung and Apple will suck all of the OLED oxygen out of the room.  Google will always be a bit player in this game.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 24
    I'm willing to bet Wall Street will be heaping praises upon Google for investing into LG. Google investors aren't like the crybaby investors of Apple who are never happy with Apple doing small acquisitions. There's always some b!tching about how Apple paid too much or the business wasn't a good fit or some other nonsense. Amazon is always throwing money around into acquisitions of all sorts and no one ever questions Jeff Bezos. All that happens with Amazon is that the P/E grows ever larger as investors throw more money at Amazon. Big investors like companies who try to grow into dominating entities.

    Google is always trying to get into Apple's space, so why doesn't Apple try to get into Google's space. Apple has plenty of money to put more pressure on Google in terms of a search engine. DuckDuckGo would be a sweet little buy for Apple.  If Apple doesn't get Toshiba's memory business, then they should at least grab DuckDuckGo.
    edited April 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 24
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    I'm willing to bet Wall Street will be heaping praises upon Google for investing into LG. 

    Google is always trying to get into Apple's space, so why doesn't Apple try to get into Google's space. 
    I fully expect Apple to "get more into Google's space" just as they have been for a few years. I'd bet Google expects it too which may be why they're hedging their bets in one way by increasing their hardware work. 
  • Reply 11 of 24
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    First, $900M is chump change considering the billions  Apple is investing into display technologies. This also shows why Google phones are not selling, they lack the control over the supply chain. HTC has no real control in the component market when they are not the final decision maker of parts end up in a Google phone. Component suppliers want a direct line of communication with the ultimate decision maker, not the company who just put the parts together, since they make decisions purely on costs.
    edited April 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 24
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    freeper said:

    Google has sold 2 million Pixels to date. That far outstripped the sales of their Nexus devices. They could have sold as many as 4 million if:

    A) it were not a "Verizon exclusive" (the Pixel can be used on all carriers, but Verizon was given exclusive rights to promote and sell the phone and offer it on contract basis, otherwise you had to buy it from vendors, and usually full price upfront unless you signed up for Google's payment plan)

    B)  if Google/HTC had been able to keep the device adequately stocked, especially the more popular models. Some people got sick of waiting to buy the thing and just bought something else. Even now the device is listed out of stock on the Google Play Store, so I bet that not a few folks have signed up for the Galaxy S8 pre-orders instead. 

    C) had the phone's base device not been the failed HTC One M9, a device that is both smaller than the 5.2'-5.5' average for most Android flagships and was merely "meh" in terms of hardware design and features, because HTC failed to meaningfully update their successful and groundbreaking HTC One M7 device (some say due to lack of R&D funds for the smallest by far of the smartphone manufacturers). HTC doesn't even sell their HTC One M line anymore - it has been supplanted by the HTC U - so the device not only had the same SOC, amount and type of memory, basic specs/look/feel etc. of a ton of other devices but cost a lot more than nearly all of them. Had Google come up with their own unique hardware design - or based it on a more popular phone like the Huawei Mate 9 or the OnePlus 2 (obviously basing it on a Samsung Galaxy is out of the question) - then it would have attracted people who wanted more than merely "the Google software/ecosystem experience" which really was its only selling point. By contrast, the Nexus 6P offered much more exciting hardware/design, was MUCH BIGGER (5.7') and only cost $499 for the base device as opposed to $650. 

    As far as Google's relationships with their OEMs ... please do not overplay this. First off, if Microsoft's OEM partners did not jump ship when Microsoft came out with the Surface line, there is no reason for Google's to do the same. Instead, HP, Dell, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Lenovo and the rest ... came out with their own versions of the Microsoft Surface. Some of which cost substantially less AND are better devices. Expect that to continue. Also, it is not as if Google's OEM partners have much of a choice. They can either compete with Google's boring hardware, overrated software/ecosystem experience and overpriced devices (seriously, compelling phones from Asus, Motorola/Lenovo and the aforementioned Huawei and OnePlus cost $200-$300 less) or ... not sell smartphones at all. Windows Mobile is dead, as is webOS, Firefox OS, Ubuntu Touch, Sailfish etc. and Tizen remains Samsung's pipe dream/"leverage" against Google. Another thing: the Pixel is only really going to be sold in North America and a few other markets. Other than Samsung, most of Google's "competition" has very little presence in North America and sell most of their devices in South Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan and India, in addition to the EU countries of course plus whatever they get elsewhere in the world. Google has a long way to go to before they become a truly global hardware company and everyone knows it. 

    How do you know Google could have sold more, can you point to the data to back this up.

    Next, do not under estimate Google causing issues with its partners, and the MS/Partner are not a good example since MS never got into the full PC and server market, any time they played around it was more about proof of concept, they would jump in and out of the design and manufacturing business but their partners understood what they were doing. Surface it still a hobby product at this point, no signs of it being widely accepted and industry recognize this. If it does take off, you can expect MS to possible turn it off, like they have done in the past.

    Google is not playing this game, and when they bought Motorola is did in fact cause lots of problems thus the reason they dump out so fast, but they only wanted the IP, but the IP became worthless since they gave it away to Samsung, HTC and Lenovo. The real issue Google will have with its partners is not about sales, it is about supply of parts, Google and all its partners who happen to have no cash can not afford to buy capacity like Apple is doing so they will not want to compete with Google for part allocations. It is one thing to fight for allocation against your direct competitor like Apple it is another thing to have the same fight with your OS partner. Supplier will not know who they should support in the end so it will get ugly.

    edited April 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 24
    Apple is in decline. The future of technology is in machine learning/AI/smart assistants/conversational interfaces. Google deciding to get serious about making nice hardware (they beat iPhone camera DXO score on their first try) is much easier than Apple suddenly gaining competency in machine learning/deep learning/AI, of which they have *none*. It's matter of time for Apple unless they dramatically reinvent themselves. They're a one trick iPhone pony.
  • Reply 14 of 24
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    Doesn't google earn from ads/data connected to android devices? So when they should start fighting android competition this would only make sense if they would be able to compensate potential losses through earnings on their devices. Hm....
    Yes, but they also earn from many iOS users too.
  • Reply 15 of 24
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    This could mean that Google is aiming to become a really serious phone maker. The others who produce Android devices will more than likely have to consider if they want to fight Google or not.
    If Google does go hell for leather and start selling Pixels by the million then even Samsung might not feel very happy about the competition.
    All might not be very hunky-dory in the android world.

    I see Google as a credible threat to Apple but I'll never go down the Android route simply because of their need to suck the life out of everyone (in terms of Data).

    That means they're about to be hit hard on anti-trust (and with good reason). They who supposedly open nature of Android is a fucking joke.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 24
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Apple is in decline. The future of technology is in machine learning/AI/smart assistants/conversational interfaces. Google deciding to get serious about making nice hardware (they beat iPhone camera DXO score on their first try) is much easier than Apple suddenly gaining competency in machine learning/deep learning/AI, of which they have *none*. It's matter of time for Apple unless they dramatically reinvent themselves. They're a one trick iPhone pony.
    Right... "beat", yet you can't really take a good fracking picture with it. Do you take pictures on a tripod with a few seconds leeway all the time...  That's the funny thing about this whole joke.

    They make more profits from their "failing" watch and service than all of Google btw.
    edited April 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 24
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    foggyhill said:
    This could mean that Google is aiming to become a really serious phone maker. The others who produce Android devices will more than likely have to consider if they want to fight Google or not.
    If Google does go hell for leather and start selling Pixels by the million then even Samsung might not feel very happy about the competition.
    All might not be very hunky-dory in the android world.

    I see Google as a credible threat to Apple but I'll never go down the Android route simply because of their need to suck the life out of everyone (in terms of Data).

    That means they're about to be hit hard on anti-trust (and with good reason). They who supposedly open nature of Android is a fucking joke.
    Antitrust lawsuit for selling smartphones? Hardly. On what basis would Google be anticompetitive selling Pixel phones? I can't imagine any scenario where the gib'mint would step in to sue Google for selling them. It amounts to a drop in the ocean as far as the overall market for smartphones is concerned. 
  • Reply 18 of 24
    maestro64 said:
    First, $900M is chump change considering the billions  Apple is investing into display technologies. This also shows why Google phones are not selling, they lack the control over the supply chain. HTC has no real control in the component market when they are not the final decision maker of parts end up in a Google phone. Component suppliers want a direct line of communication with the ultimate decision maker, not the company who just put the parts together, since they make decisions purely on costs.
    Well said. The 876 million investment into LG display is chump change in the grand scheme of things. Samsung and LG have many billions invested into OLED manufacturing. 

    Every time I see another article about JDI, Sharp, Sony, National/Panasonic, etc extol their move into OLED with a fraction of the investment, I just scratch my head. 

    Apple's OLED demand is huge. Samsung's components revenues are about to increase in a very major fashion. And with those profits, they will be re-investing in their display trchnology, lowering costs and increasing performance with better reliability. 

    NO ONE else is going to be able to take on Samsung. Not LG and especially not Google. Apple will have preferred access and the lowest costs outside of Samsung itself. 

    The smartphone industry is rapidly converging to two players, Apple and Samsung. This deal between Apple and Samsung will accelerate that trend. 

    Google can decide to play nice with Samsung and Apple and stick to search. But they won't. It means that Samsung will destroy Google's Android market. Samsung will either take control of Android outright or move off it and onto Tizen. With the best, most cost effective hardware of anyone outside of Apple, they can make it happen. 

    I have a Samsung Gear S3 frontier watch based on Tizen. It is a very nice piece of hardware. Far better than the Android wear garbage put out by LG and Huawei. And why is it that Samsung is building all of their non smartphone hardware to run on Tizen? They also build millions of Tizen based phones for Indian and Russian markets. In fact far more than Google is able to build Pixels for the Notth American market. There is a substantial Tizen base of software being built in India. 

    It is only a matter of time before Samsung takes over the Android marketplace. And they are going to do it with hardware. Because no one else is going to be able to keep up with them outside of Apple. Apple will be using Samsung components of course, but doing so guarantees lack of access to the other manufacturers like HTC, Huawei, Xiaomi and the like. It means Google is left with scraps in trying to compete in hardware. And making desperate and meaningless moves like the investment into LG display. 

    876 million is actually a relatively petty investment. They can't and won't be driving the volumes that Samsung and Apple smartphones will. Even if Huawei and Xiaomi are added in. None of them sell high end smartphones in numbers that Apple and samsung do. In fact Samsung sells more Tizen based phones to the Indian market in a year than Google has sold of its own branded smartphones in its entire history. And Samsung sells more Tizen based watches than the rest of the android OEMs combined. I cannot understand why Fitbit is considered a smartwatch. If they aren't considered, it is once again a two horse race. 

    The picture is becoming clear. And Google is going to find themselves in more and more of a desperate situation. AI is an oxymoron. It will never replace human insight and judgment. Computers are to enhance human capabilities, not take over for them. Google was always headed down the wrong path. 

    They seem to be realizing it now. The problem is that it's too late. Apple and Samsung always had the right perspective. And their lead is now too great to overcome. Even for a company like Google. 

    This one's going to fun to watch play out. Apple's competition isn't going away, it is just shifting. Instead of Google, it will be Samsung playing by the Apple model of vertical integration. Google thought the Microsoft model would work in smartphones. They are going to find out otherwise. It seems to be clear that they are seeing it. There's very little they can do about it now. 

    They cannot buy Samsung or they very likely would try. Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo acquisitions would be nixed by the Chinese govt. LG is also too big and a relatively minor Android player. 

    Google is in a bind. And the more they make these kinds of investments, the more evidence they provide to the notion that they truly are losing control of Android to Samsung. Bixby is about to displace Google's assistant on the upcoming Galaxy S8. Yes people can always download the assistant on the play store. How many will vs. just using Bixby instead?

    I have seen people use Samsung pay. I have never seen anyone, not a single person use Android pay. I even asked someone at Whole Foods why they chose Samsung pay instead of Android pay. They answered that it was convenient. It came with the phone and didn't require any extra steps and Samsung pay is accepted more places. 

    With that, it became clear to me that Samsung is going to own the second mobile platform outside of Apple. Google has no chance. There is no other company competitive with Samsung in components. And with the other dominant mobile platform taking all of the available supply of Samsung components, minor players like HTC, LG, and even Huawei won't be able to compete. 
  • Reply 19 of 24
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    maestro64 said:
    First, $900M is chump change considering the billions  Apple is investing into display technologies. This also shows why Google phones are not selling, they lack the control over the supply chain. HTC has no real control in the component market when they are not the final decision maker of parts end up in a Google phone. Component suppliers want a direct line of communication with the ultimate decision maker, not the company who just put the parts together, since they make decisions purely on costs.
    TLDR. Short version: Google is doomed.

  • Reply 20 of 24
    maestro64 said:
    First, $900M is chump change considering the billions  Apple is investing into display technologies. This also shows why Google phones are not selling, they lack the control over the supply chain. HTC has no real control in the component market when they are not the final decision maker of parts end up in a Google phone. Component suppliers want a direct line of communication with the ultimate decision maker, not the company who just put the parts together, since they make decisions purely on costs.
    Well said. The 876 million investment into LG display is chump change in the grand scheme of things. Samsung and LG have many billions invested into OLED manufacturing. 

    Every time I see another article about JDI, Sharp, Sony, National/Panasonic, etc extol their move into OLED with a fraction of the investment, I just scratch my head. 

    Apple's OLED demand is huge. Samsung's components revenues are about to increase in a very major fashion. And with those profits, they will be re-investing in their display trchnology, lowering costs and increasing performance with better reliability. 

    NO ONE else is going to be able to take on Samsung. Not LG and especially not Google. Apple will have preferred access and the lowest costs outside of Samsung itself. 

    The smartphone industry is rapidly converging to two players, Apple and Samsung. This deal between Apple and Samsung will accelerate that trend. 

    Google can decide to play nice with Samsung and Apple and stick to search. But they won't. It means that Samsung will destroy Google's Android market. Samsung will either take control of Android outright or move off it and onto Tizen. With the best, most cost effective hardware of anyone outside of Apple, they can make it happen. 

    I have a Samsung Gear S3 frontier watch based on Tizen. It is a very nice piece of hardware. Far better than the Android wear garbage put out by LG and Huawei. And why is it that Samsung is building all of their non smartphone hardware to run on Tizen? They also build millions of Tizen based phones for Indian and Russian markets. In fact far more than Google is able to build Pixels for the Notth American market. There is a substantial Tizen base of software being built in India. 

    It is only a matter of time before Samsung takes over the Android marketplace. And they are going to do it with hardware. Because no one else is going to be able to keep up with them outside of Apple. Apple will be using Samsung components of course, but doing so guarantees lack of access to the other manufacturers like HTC, Huawei, Xiaomi and the like. It means Google is left with scraps in trying to compete in hardware. And making desperate and meaningless moves like the investment into LG display. 

    876 million is actually a relatively petty investment. They can't and won't be driving the volumes that Samsung and Apple smartphones will. Even if Huawei and Xiaomi are added in. None of them sell high end smartphones in numbers that Apple and samsung do. In fact Samsung sells more Tizen based phones to the Indian market in a year than Google has sold of its own branded smartphones in its entire history. And Samsung sells more Tizen based watches than the rest of the android OEMs combined. I cannot understand why Fitbit is considered a smartwatch. If they aren't considered, it is once again a two horse race. 

    The picture is becoming clear. And Google is going to find themselves in more and more of a desperate situation. AI is an oxymoron. It will never replace human insight and judgment. Computers are to enhance human capabilities, not take over for them. Google was always headed down the wrong path. 

    They seem to be realizing it now. The problem is that it's too late. Apple and Samsung always had the right perspective. And their lead is now too great to overcome. Even for a company like Google. 

    This one's going to fun to watch play out. Apple's competition isn't going away, it is just shifting. Instead of Google, it will be Samsung playing by the Apple model of vertical integration. Google thought the Microsoft model would work in smartphones. They are going to find out otherwise. It seems to be clear that they are seeing it. There's very little they can do about it now. 

    They cannot buy Samsung or they very likely would try. Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo acquisitions would be nixed by the Chinese govt. LG is also too big and a relatively minor Android player. 

    Google is in a bind. And the more they make these kinds of investments, the more evidence they provide to the notion that they truly are losing control of Android to Samsung. Bixby is about to displace Google's assistant on the upcoming Galaxy S8. Yes people can always download the assistant on the play store. How many will vs. just using Bixby instead?

    I have seen people use Samsung pay. I have never seen anyone, not a single person use Android pay. I even asked someone at Whole Foods why they chose Samsung pay instead of Android pay. They answered that it was convenient. It came with the phone and didn't require any extra steps and Samsung pay is accepted more places. 

    With that, it became clear to me that Samsung is going to own the second mobile platform outside of Apple. Google has no chance. There is no other company competitive with Samsung in components. And with the other dominant mobile platform taking all of the available supply of Samsung components, minor players like HTC, LG, and even Huawei won't be able to compete. 

    I don't know from where people in this forum get the idea that Samsung can do without Android OR that Tizen can be used in "premium" smartphones (read Galaxy S/Note series). If Samsung has such plans, it is only a pipe dream. There are just NO takers for Tizen powered phones for a cost of more than $100 even in India. Not sure from where you got the statistics that Samsung has sold more Tizen powered phones than Pixels. Even assuming that to be true, how much money Samsung made by selling those devices Vs HTC/Google made selling 2 million pixel phones? The latter would be greater than former because the former is a -Ve number, compared to latter which is a +Ve number. There is just NO place for a 3rd mobile OS as a competition against IOS/Android. Microsoft (a proper software company compared to Samsung who is a hardware company) had a chance with Windows Mobile, blew it already. There is just no scope for another OS to gain traction for at least next 5 years, if not more.
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