Just like Apple, it looks like Google is going to build its own processors too, expanding its marketing opportunities to the chipset industry. The Cupertino brand could be looking at another worthy competitor.
Recently, Google's Pixel C was pitted against Apple's iPad Pro, and the Google's tablet will be the home of the Nvidia Tegra X1 (picture) with Maxwell GPU. Perhaps if the Mountain View-based firm really does start to manufacture chipsets, we might get to see a Pixel variant sporting a Google processor, as a job listing by the Google Pixel C team shows Google is looking for a multimedia chip architect.
According to chip analyst Jim McGregor, it's not unusual for system designers to hire people with chipset expertise, as they can analyze the processors and think up of ways to improve their features.
"With the trend towards vertical integration, especially at Microsoft and Apple, it wouldn't surprise me if Google developed their own chips, especially for Android productivity tablets to compete with the Surface Pro and iPad Pro," McGregor told Business Insider.
However, based on the job posting, it seems that Google really intends to extend its reach to the chip market, and if it's true, Google will be competing with Apple on more grounds.
"Propose chip architecture based on product requirements, prototype design in FPGA or simulator, evaluate performance of various performance algorithms, lead a chip development effort and work with other engineers to take chip to product shipment," Google listed as the responsibilities of the multimedia chip architect on the job listing.
Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, labeled the Pixel C as the "first Android tablet built end-to-end by Google." This move could be considered as Google taking a step further with that statement by breaking things off with its partners that produce the insides of its devices.
If Google really pushes this through, we might see a lot more of Google and its devices in the foreseeable future.
