A high-profile Google event on October 4th widely expected to show a new emphasis on hardware, challenging rivals Apple and Amazon and launching a new strategy for the online giant. While the company has offered no official preview, it is expected to unveil a new line of Google-branded smartphones, a tablet and a home virtual assistant.
Analysts anticipate that the internet titan will expand on a vision laid out by chief Sundar Pichai at its developers conference early this year. The strategy would seek to take Google's strength in software and merge that with its devices, as Apple, Amazon and smartphone leader Samsung all work to get a tighter grip on consumers.
Google fired off a Twitter message with hashtag #madebygoogle and a video of what appeared to be a long rectangular search term box morphing into a silhouette of a smartphone.
"They did call it out as a smartphone event," Gartner analyst Brian Blau said. "It is an opportunity for Google to show off its latest devices."
Industry trackers anticipate Google will show off its own smartphone, showcasing the prowess of its new Nougat version of its Android mobile software. Google may stamp its latest smartphones with a "Pixel" brand instead of the "Nexus" name it has used in the past for Android smartphones it has made in collaborations with partners.
Google has worked with handset makers in the past to field smartphones showing off the full potential of Android mobile operating software, which it makes available free to device makers. By stressing something "made by Google," the California company has triggered speculation it would push a premium smartphone line of its own against the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Apple recently released new iPhone 7 models, along with its new-generation iOS 10 mobile operating system. Samsung meanwhile has been struggling with a recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 handsets due to complaints of exploding batteries.
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