Why Google Might Make a Big Change to its Android Strategy

Google has been a major force in the smartphone world since 2007, when it unveiled the Android mobile operating system. Nearly a decade later, Android powers about four of every five smartphones in the world. At least 1.4 billion people around the world use Android, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company announced last year.

Google, however, makes very few of those devices itself, instead licensing the Android software to hardware manufacturers like Samsung, LG and HTC.