Category Archives: Google

In the beginning, it took a very specialized pitch to connect Android and Google.

Dan Sandler

By mid-2005, Android was acquired and the future looked bright. But just six months earlier, things werent quite as rosy. In January of that year, the startup was desperate for cash and their main task was thesame as for most startups: getting funding. After the pivot from a camera OS to an open source phone platform, they still had the daunting task of actually building a product, which meant theyd need more money to hire a large enough team to do the work.

The original demo, written by Brian Swetland and Chris White and later enhanced by Fadden, showing a home screen and several apps (most of which were not implemented). Its a far cry from a modern Android home screen.

Chet Haase

So the company focused on three things. First, they needed a demo to show what was possible. Next, they needed to articulate their vision and create a pitch deck to help explain that vision. Finally, they needed to take the demo and the slide deck on the road to pitch their story to potential investors.

The first job for Andy McFadden (known to the team as Fadden) when he joined was solidifying the demo, a prototype phone system that Brian Swetland and Chris White had been working on. It wasnt actually functional (for example, it showed a stock ticker on the home screen which used a set of hard-coded symbols and stale data). But the demo represented a vision of what the product could be when it was actually implemented.

One of the apps that Fadden added to the demo was a simple calendar application. This early demo project would come back to haunt him. After many intervening years of working on things throughout the Android platform, he ended up helping out with the Android Calendar app. Time waits for no man... but calendar apps do.

As the team honed their vision, they created a slide deck to explain it. These slides painted a picture of the opportunities that they saw for Android in the marketplace, as well as a picture of how Android would make money for the investors.

The slide deck in March of 2005 had fifteen slides, which was enough to capture the attention of VCs as well as Google.

The pitch deck got interesting by the second slide, which compared PC and phone markets. In 2004, there were 178 million shipments of PCs worldwide. During the same period, there were 675 million phones shipped; nearlyfour times as many units as PCs, but with processors and memory that wereas capable as PCs were in 1998.

The first slide of the pitch deck. The word ANDROID in that custom font remained the logo for the OS for many years after this startup phase.

Chet Haase

The number of mobile phones already dwarfed the number of PCs being sold in 2004, providing a huge opportunity for phones with more capable software.

Chet Haase

This potential in mobile hardware was a point that Dianne Hackborn, then at PalmSource and eventually on the Android team, was also thinking about. The mobile industry was ready to pop because there was finally enough power for there to be a real, capable computing platform: Dianne said, You could see the writing on the wall. The hardware was getting more powerful, and the market was already bigger than PCs.

The presentation also identified the problem of the growing cost of mobile software. The cost of hardware was going down, but that of software was not, making it a larger and larger proportion of the per-handset cost. But handset manufacturers were not experts in software platform development and didnt have the skill set or interest in providing the increasing capabilities required to differentiate their software from that of their competitors.

The second major point in the pitch deck was that there was a gap, and an opportunity, in the market for an open platform. That is, Android would be an operating system that was free and available to manufacturers through open source. Companies would be able to use and distribute this OS on their own phones, without being beholden to a software provider and without having to build it themselves. This open approach was something that was simply not available at that time.

Microsoft provided a proprietary OS that manufacturers could license and then port to their hardware. Symbian was primarily used by Nokia, with some uptake from Sony and Motorola. RIM had its own platform, which it used only for its own BlackBerry devices. But there was no alternative out there for manufacturers that wanted a capable smartphone without either building their own OS, putting significant effort into customizing an existing one, and/or paying a high licensing fee.

Chet Haase

Even more problematic, the systems that were available failed to provide an ecosystem for applications. Symbian provided some of the core infrastructure for an operating system, but the UI layer was left as an exercise for the manufacturer, resulting in an application model for phones where apps written for one flavor of Symbian wouldnt necessarily run on some other variation, even on phones from the same manufacturer.

The Java programming language, known in the server and desktop PC world as write once, run anywhere, could possibly have provided this kind of cross-device application capability, but Java ME fell far short of this in the mobile space. While it did provide at least the same language across devices (much as Symbian provided the same language of C++for all of its implementations), Java ME addressed the wide variety of form factors and architectures in phones by providing different versions of the platform, called profiles. These profiles had different capabilities, so developers needed to change their applications to run on different devices, and often that approach failed when capabilities were drastically different across devices.

Linux to the rescue!... Almost. Texas Instruments (TI) provided an open platform based on the Linux OS kernel. All manufacturers needed was Linux itself, reference hardware from TI, and then a huge host of other modules that manufacturers had to acquire, license, build or otherwise supply to create their own device. As Brian Swetland put it, You could use TIs OMAP chips to build a Linux phone. So you needed TIs OMAP and then forty components from forty different vendors of middleware. You put all these together and you integrated them all and then youd have a Linux phone. Andthat was just absurd.

Chet Haase

Android wanted to provide the worlds first complete open handset platform solution. It would be built on Linux, like TIs offering, but would also provide all of the necessary pieces so that manufacturers would have only one system to adopt in order to build and ship their devices. Android would also provide a single programming model to application developers, so that their apps would work the same across all devices on which the platform ran. By having a single platform that worked across all devices using it, Android would simplify phones for both manufacturers and developers.

Read the rest here:

Excerpt: How Google bought Androidaccording to folks in the room - Ars Technica

How to get paid to work remotely in small cities, towns

At least 45 towns and communities are offering money and other incentives to get remote workers to move there.

Andrea Kramar, USA TODAY

Google employees who choose to work from home permanently may face pay cuts, according to a report by Reuters.

Workers with longer commutes were reported to receive the highest pay cuts. Reuters found that an employee living in Stamford, Connecticut, an hour from Google's New York office, would be paid 15% less workingfrom home, but a colleague living in New York would see no cut.

Another Google employee chose to make a two-hour commute to the Seattle office instead of a 10% pay cut for working from home full-time.

An employee working in the New York City office will be paid just as much as someone working remotely in the same area, aGoogle spokesperson told Reuters.

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"Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from," a Google spokesperson told Reuters.

Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecuiter, said companies cutting wages for remote workers may see a decrease in employee retention.

"Culturally, we're seeing a rise in pay transparency, and people feel very strongly that it's not fair to be paid different amounts for the same work and for the same quality output of work," Pollak told USA TODAY.

Pollak noted reports indicating remote work is here to stay and employees are willing to quit and find work elsewhere if it's taken away. She said changing the salary for an employee is difficult to do regardless of location.

Although remote work comes with fewer costs, such as gas for commutes, employees will argue the quality of their work hasn't changed, so their pay shouldn't either, Pollak said. She said the rise in remote working changed economics:Companies pay employees based on the value of their work, not their location.

"The companies that say that they will pay people the same, regardless of the personal choices they make about whether to live out of their cars or out of mansions, will have the upper hand," Pollak said. "Pay cuts for remote work will not be received well."

Google did not answer a request for comment by USA TODAY.

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Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda

Continued here:

Google employees could face pay cuts if they choose to permanently work from home - USA TODAY

Google says it plans additional privacy measures to protect teenage users on YouTube and its search engine, becoming the latest technology giant to adopt tougher standards in the face of criticism that companies are not doing enough to protect children.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Google announced that videos uploaded to YouTube by users 13 to 17 years old would be private by default, allowing the content to be seen only by the users and people they designate.

Google also will start to allow anyone under 18 years old, or a parent or guardian, to request the removal of that minors images from Google Image search results, the company said. It is unclear whether this process will be easy and responsive, considering Googles historical reluctance to remove items from search results.

In addition, Google said it would turn off location history for all users younger than 18 and eliminate the option for them to turn it back on.

The company plans to roll out the changes in the coming weeks, it said.

There is growing bipartisan support in Washington to press technology companies to do more to protect children. In the last few months, two pieces of legislation, one in the House and one in the Senate, seek to update the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act. The 1998 law, known as COPPA, restricts the tracking and targeting of children under 13 years old, and the bills would extend those protections to teenagers.

Google has repeatedly faced scrutiny over its handling of data related to children. In 2019, it agreed to pay a $170 million fine for violating COPPA by collecting childrens data without parental consent.

Googles announcement comes on the heels of changes unveiled last month by Facebook to protect teenage users on Instagram. Among the advertising and privacy policy changes, one will make accounts created by children under 16 private by default, Instagram said.

Both Facebook and Google said they were limiting the ability of marketers to target teenagers with advertising, but in slightly different ways. Facebook said advertisers would be able to target people under 18 based only on their age, gender and location and not on their interests or their activity on other apps and websites.

Google said it would block personalized ads that were based on age, gender or interests to people under 18. It will still allow ads based on context, such as a persons search requests.

Read the rest here:

Google to Increase Privacy for Teenagers in Search and on YouTube - The New York Times

We all know how to search Google: you pop some words into a box and hope for the best!

These tips and tricks will supercharge your searches so you can find exactly what youre looking for, even faster than ever!

Follow Rich DeMuro onInstagramfor more tech news, tips and tricks.

Want to exclude certain words from your search? Put a hyphen in front of the words you dont want in your results. For instance, [Dodgers -tickets] will bring up results that dont have anything to do with tickets to the game.

For the opposite effect, try using quotes. Put some search terms in quotes and your results will contain those exact words. For instance, [albert einstein princeton] will bring up results that include just that.

When you want to see results from just a specific website, put in your search terms and then include a colon along with the website name.

For instance [samsung site:ktla.com] would bring up just the posts Ive made on ktla.com with the term Samsung.

If youre looking for a particular file, like a PDF or PowerPoint, try adding filetype to your search!

This is handy for finding things like printable coloring sheets for the kids.

For instance, type [dinosaur coloring sheet filetype:pdf].

One of my personal favorite searches is adding the term versus. This is helpful when you want to compare one thing to another, even if you arent sure what the other thing is!

For instance, lets say youre comparing meal kit delivery companies. You can type in [hello fresh vs] and then Google will suggest searches that compare similar products.

Want to know more about an image? Try a reverse image search. Go to images.google.com and then drag and drop the photo you want to search for more information on. Google will find similar images and any web pages where that image appears.

You can also narrow down results by time. Start by doing a search, then under the search box, hit the button for Tools. Next, use the selector that appears to choose a range of time.

Looking for just results from social media sites? Type in your search terms then include an @instagram @facebook or @twitter and you should see mostly posts made on that site. For instance [pumpkin spice donut @instagram] should show Instagram posts of pumpkin spice donuts.

When you want to have a little fun, hover over Googles signature Im Feeling Lucky button and watch it change to other things like Im Feeling Trendy or Im Feeling Adventurous. Click to see where it takes you.

Finally, if you want to see how Google looked back in the day, try searching [Google in 1998] Surprisingly, not much has changed with Googles overall look and feel.

Listen to theRich on Techpodcast for answers to your tech questions.

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Use these Google tips and tricks to find exactly what youre searching for faster than ever - KTLA

Google search now has an interactive periodic table you can check out to learn a lot more about the elements. You can find it by searching for periodic table and clicking the explore elements button on the right side of the page or by navigating to it directly right here.

I wasnt the best chemistry student growing up, but Ive had a lot of fun clicking on different elements and learning about things like an elements atomic mass, melting point, and seeing a 3D model of each element, which I find particularly cool. Each element that Ive clicked on also includes a short fact like that thallium was used as the murder agent in an Agatha Christie novel, apparently

The periodic table is being announced alongside a few new features in Google Assistant designed to help families, including updates to Family Bell reminders. At launch last year, they could only play from Nest smart displays or speaker, but in several weeks, theyll be able to ring on mobile devices, too, Google says. And sometime soon, Family Bell on the Nest Hub will be able to show a checklist when a Family Bell goes off, which could be a useful way to remember a set number of tasks.

Google is also adding a way to set a routine after you turn off your alarm in the morning, which could let you check the weather and the news right after you wake up, for example. This feature is also coming soon.

See original here:

Google is adding an interactive periodic table to search - The Verge

Google is adding a bunch of new features to Google Meet, making it easier for users to control and direct meetings. However, exactly which controls will be available depends on whether you are using Meet as a regular user or as part of a Google Workspace team.

The main update is that all users will now be able to assign up to 25 co-hosts per meeting, who will have access to host controls. This will let them limit who can share their screen and send chat messages, as well as mute all participants with a single click, end the meeting, and control who can enter the meeting (though this last feature is only available to certain Google Workspace versions). Previously, assigning co-hosts was only available to Google Workspace for Education customers.

Google Meet is also getting new Quick Access settings if youre a Google Workspace customer. This will be enabled by default, but if its turned off, it means meetings wont be able to start until the host joins. Users can also do things like block anonymous users from joining or only let invited participants join without asking ensuring only people who are supposed to be in a meeting are actually in there.

The changes are scheduled to roll out on web and Android from August 16th and on iOS from August 30th. For full details of the changes and availability based on different Workplace versions, check out the blog post from Google here.

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Google Meet users have more options to add co-hosts, limit screen sharing, and mute others - The Verge

Todays smartwatch news has been dominated by Samsungs new Wear OS 3-powered wearables, but Google wants you to know it hasnt forgotten about smartwatches running Wear OS 2. Updates to Google Pay, Messages, and other third-party apps will be coming to current devices in addition to Wear OS 3, giving existing owners something to look forward to as they roll out over the coming weeks.

For starters, Google Pays support for contactless payments from smartwatches is expanding to 16 new countries: Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates. Its previously been possible to use Google Pay from smartphones in these countries, but not from smartwatches.

Next up, Google says that its Messages Wear OS app will have improved performance so you can easily use it without taking out your phone. The messages will sync with your paired phone so everything that happens in your wrist is still updated in your pocket.

Finally, there are also new experiences on the way from third-party apps like Calm, Komoot, Period Tracker, Sleep Cycle, Spotify, and Strava. Google says that many of these apps will include support for Tiles, Googles glanceable widgets that offer quick tidbits of information from supported apps.

As well as Googles existing Wear OS 2 operating system, these features are also coming to upcoming Wear OS 3 watches. Here, theyll be joined by a new YouTube Music app, with support for offline downloads, and a redesigned Google Maps app.

Link:

Google Pay and Messages updates are coming to existing Wear OS watches - The Verge

EFF would like to thank former intern Haley Amster for drafting this post, and former legal fellow Nathan Sobel for his assistance in editing it.

The Fourth Amendment requires authorities to target search warrants at particular places or thingslike a home, a bank deposit box, or a cell phoneand only when there is reason to believe that evidence of a crime will be found there. The Constitutions drafters put in place these essential limits on government power after suffering under British searches called general warrants that gave authorities unlimited discretion to search nearly everyone and everything for evidence of a crime.

Yet today, Google is facilitating the digital equivalent of those colonial-era general warrants. Through the use of geofence warrants (also known as reverse location warrants), federal and state law enforcement officers are routinely requesting that Google search users accounts to determine who was in a certain geographic area at a particular timeand then to track individuals outside of that initially specific area and time period.

These warrants are anathema to the Fourth Amendments core guarantee largely because, by design, they sweep up people wholly unconnected to the crime under investigation.

For example, in 2020 Florida police obtained a geofence warrant in a burglary investigation that led them to suspect a man who frequently rode his bicycle in the area. Google collected the mans location history when he used an app on his smartphone to track his rides, a scenario that ultimately led police to suspect him of the crime even though he was innocent.

Google is the linchpin in this unconstitutional scheme. Authorities send Google geofence warrants precisely because Googles devices, operating system, apps, and other products allow it to collect data from millions of users and to catalog these users locations, movements, associations, and other private details of their lives.

Although Google has sometimes pushed back in court on the breadth of some of these warrants, it has largely acquiesced to law enforcement demandsand the number of geofence warrants law enforcement sends to the company has dramatically increased in recent years. This stands in contrast to documented instances of other companies resisting law enforcement requests for user data on Fourth Amendment grounds.

Its past time for Google to stand up for its users privacy and to resist these unlawful warrants. A growing coalition of civil rights and other organizations, led by the Surveillance Technology and Oversight Project, have previously called on Google to do so. We join that coalitions call for change and further demand that Google:

As explained below, these are the minimum steps Google must take to show that it is committed to its users privacy and the Fourth Amendments protections against general warrants.

EFF calls on Google to stop complying with the geofence warrants it receives. As it stands now, Google appears to have set up an internal system that streamlines, systematizes, and encourages law enforcements use of geofence warrants. Googles practice of complying with geofence warrants despite their unconstitutionality is inconsistent with its stated promise to protect the privacy of its users by keeping your information safe, treating it responsibly, and putting you in control. As recently as October, Googles parent companys CEO, Sundar Pichai, said that [p]rivacy is one of the most important areas we invest in as a company, and in the past, Google has even gone to court to protect its users sensitive data from overreaching government legal process. However, Googles compliance with geofence warrants is incongruent with these platitudes and the companys past actions.

To live up to its promises, Google should commit to either refusing to comply with these unlawful warrants or to challenging them in court. By refusing to comply, Google would put the burden on law enforcement to demonstrate the legality of its warrant in court. Other companies, and even Google itself, have done this in the past. Google should not defer to law enforcements contention that geofence warrants are constitutional, especially given law enforcements well-documented history of trying novel surveillance and legal theories that courts later rule to be unconstitutional. And to the extent Google has refused to comply with geofence warrants, it should say so publicly.

Googles ongoing cooperation is all the more unacceptable given that other companies that collect similar location data from their users, including Microsoft and Garmin, have publicly stated that they would not comply with geofence warrants.

Even if Google were to stop complying with geofence warrants today, it still must be much more transparent about geofence warrants it has received in the past. Google must break out information and provide further details about geofence warrants in its biannual Transparency Reports.

Googles Transparency Reports currently document, among other things, the types and volume of law enforcement requests for user data the company receives, but they do not, as of now, break out information about geofence warrants or provide further details about them. With no detailed reporting from Google about the geofence warrants it has received, the public is left to learn about them via leaks to reporters or by combing through court filings.

Here are a few specific ways Google can be more transparent:

Google should disclose the following information about all geofence warrants it has received over the last five years and commit to continue doing so moving forward:

Google should also resist nondisclosure orders and litigate to ensure, if imposed, that the government has made the appropriate showing required by law. If Google is subject to such an order, or the related docket is sealed (prohibiting the company from disclosing the fact it has received some geofence warrants or from providing other details), Google should move to end those orders and to unseal those dockets so it can make details about them public as early as allowable by law.

Google should also support and seek to provide basic details about court cases and docket numbers for orders authorizing each geofence warrant and docket numbers for any related criminal prosecutions Google is aware of as a result of the geofence warrants. At minimum, Google should disclose details on the agencies seeking geofence warrants, broken down by each federal agency, state-level agencies, and local law enforcement.

Google must start telling its users when their information is caught up in a geofence warranteven if that information is de-identified. This notice to affected users should state explicitly what information Google produced, in what format, which agency requested it, which court authorized the warrant, and whether Google provided identifying information. Notice to users here is critical: if people arent aware of how they are being affected by these warrants, there cant be meaningful public debate about them.

To the extent the law requires Google to delay notice or not disclose the existence of the warrant, Google should challenge such restrictions so as to only comply with valid ones, and it should provide users with notice as soon as possible.

It does not appear that Google gives notice to every user whose data is requested by law enforcement. Some affected users have said that Google notified them that law enforcement accessed their account via a geofence warrant. But in some of the cases EFF has followed, it appears that Google has not always notified affected users who it identifies in response to these warrants, with no public explanation from Google. Googles policies state that it gives notice to users before disclosing information, but more clarity is warranted here. Google should publicly state whether its policy is being applied to all users information subject to geofence warrants, or only those who they identify to law enforcement.

Many people do not know, much less understand, how and when Google collects and stores location data. Google must do a better job of explaining its policies and practices to users, not processing user data absent opt-in consent, minimizing the amount of data it collects, deleting retained data users no longer need, and giving users the ability to easily delete their data.

Well before law enforcement ever comes calling, Google must first ensure it does not collect its users location data before obtaining meaningful consent from them. This consent should establish a fair way for users to opt into data collection, as click-through agreements which apply to dozens of services, data types, or uses at once are insufficient. As one judge in a case involving Facebook put it, the logic that merely clicking I agree indicates true consent requires everyone to pretend that users read every word of these policies before clicking their acceptance, even though we all know that virtually none of them did.

Google should also explain exactly what location data it collects from users, when that collection occurs, what purpose it is used for, and how long Google retains that data. This should be clear and understandable, not buried in dense privacy policies or terms of service.

Google should also only be collecting, retaining, and using its customers location data for a specific purpose, such as to provide directions on Google Maps or to measure road traffic congestion. Data must not be collected or used for a different purpose, such as for targeted advertising, unless users separately opt in to such use. Beyond notice and consent, Google must minimize its processing of user data, that is, only process user data as reasonably necessary to give users what they asked for. For example, user data should be deleted when it is no longer needed for the specific purpose for which it was initially collected, unless the user specifically requests that the data be saved.

Although Google allows users to manually delete their location data and to set automated deletion schedules, Google should confirm that these tools are not illusory. Recent enforcement actions by state attorneys allege that users cannot fully delete their data, much less fully opt out of having their location data collected at all.

* * *

Google holds a tremendous amount of power over law enforcements ability to use geofence warrants. Instead of keeping quiet about them and waiting for defendants in criminal cases to challenge them in court, Google needs to stand up for its users when it comes to revealing their sensitive data to law enforcement.

The rest is here:

It's Time for Google to Resist Geofence Warrants and to Stand Up for Its Affected Users - EFF

To some Americans, being able to work remotely is so important they're willing to take a pay cut. Just ask Google.

Since June, roughly 10,000 of the internet company's more than 135,000 workers have asked for permission either to work remotely on a full-time basis or to relocate to a different office once COVID-19 subsides. Google has so far approved 85% of the requests. The catch? Employees who choose to work from home, or even at an office in a new city or state, often must accept pay cuts.

Google said the company sets employee salaries based on where around the country they work, along with other factors such as job function and a person's qualifications.

"Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from," a Google spokesperson told CBS News.

In June, Google developed a new "Work Location Tool" to assist employees in calculating their pay. It was "developed to help employees make informed decisions about which city or state they work from and any impact on compensation, if they choose to relocate or work remotely," the spokesperson said.

Google pays top dollar for employees in competitive job markets like New York, regardless of whether they choose to work from home or from one of the search giant's offices, according to the company.

Google workers could also theoretically receive pay bumps if they move to a more expensive part of the country, based on the policy.

The 15% of relocation requests that were rejected were from workers in roles that require access to specialized equipment or require regular face-to-face interactions. Other denied requests came from members of internal teams that are committed to working from a particular hub or office.

Employees are permitted to resubmit requests to work remotely and explore other flexible work options with their managers.

Google last monthpushed back its deadline for workers to return to offices, citing spikes in coronavirus cases linked to the highly contagious Delta variant. Originally set for September, the company's voluntary work-from-home policy was extended through October 18.

In announcing the extension, Google CEO Sundar Pichai noted that "many Googlers are seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about retuning to the office."

Other corporate leaders have also suggested thatworkers' pay or employment status be tied to where they work and at times have been met with backlash.

Catherine Merrill, CEO of The Washingtonian, a monthly magazine focused on politics and culture, suggested in a Washington Post opinionpiecein May that people who work from home should be categorized as hourly contractors. She also said that managers have "a strong incentive" to demote employees who don't return to the office post-pandemic. In response to the piece, some senior staff at the publication promptlystaged a revolt.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman also recently suggested shrinking employees' pay if their living expenses declined. At an event held by the investment bank this month, he said that bankers and other personnel must operate from the firm's Times Square headquarters in Manhattan toearn their full salaries.

"If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York. None of this, 'I'm in Colorado ... and getting paid like I'm sitting in New York City. Sorry, that doesn't work," he said.

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Thousands of Google workers agree to pay cuts so they can work remotely - CBS News

Google plans another campus in Silicon Valley which will include a new center for some of its hardware products, CNBC reported. Google has been buying up land in northern San Jose, California, spending more than $389 million on what preliminary plans show will include a research and development center, according to CNBC.

The campus, which it calls Midpoint, will be located between Googles current Mountain View headquarters and its mixed-use campus in San Jose. Midpoint will have five office buildings connected by a pedestrian bridge, and will be adjacent to three industrial buildings that planning documents show will serve as a hub for its hardware division, including its Nest smart home products. The documents also show that Google has been planning the Midpoint site since 2018, CNBC reported.

Google didnt immediately reply to a request for comment Saturday, but a campus that has more space dedicated to hardware makes sense, given what executives have said recently. The companys hardware chief Rick Osterloh has said Google is ready to start grabbing market share in the hardware space. As The Verges Dieter Bohn noted after a recent visit to Mountain View for a peek at the Pixel 6, Googles flagship phone has tiny market share compared to Apple and Samsung.

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Google reportedly planning a new Silicon Valley campus with a hardware center - The Verge