Google first started getting serious about being a hardware company in 2016, and it continued this push even more in 2017. Products like the Pixel 2, Pixelbook, and Google Home Mini/Max show that Google really does have a knack for the hardware business, and a new report suggests that the company is getting ready to make an even bigger push in this direction.
According to The Information, Google is building up a new hardware team that'll be stationed in Shanghai and focused on developing smartphone and Home hardware. Google had around 20 engineers in Shanghai this time last year, but it's since increased that number to 150.
Employees in Shanghai have been hired from Jide Technology, as well as former workers from Amazon and Apple that have "experience in hardware and supply chain management."
Google doesn't plan on selling hardware in China right away.
Although Google's clearly putting a lot of work into its Shanghai operation, it doesn't actually have any plans to sell hardware in the country for the time being. Instead, Google will initially be focused on creating deals with other manufacturing companies in the area to help expand its products on a more global scale. Google's supposedly already "struck some deals" with certain brands, so whatever its plans are, they seem to be headed in the right direction.
In addition to Pixel phones and Google Home, the Shanghai team will also be working on the Pixelbook, Daydream VR headsets, and even wearable tech. Google's shown that it can make serious progress in the hardware department looking at its releases from 2016 compared to 2017, so it'll be vastly interesting to see how this new team in Shanghai contributes to this area.
