Huawei refused to make Pixel phones for Alphabet due to branding issues

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has revealed that it did not go through with a deal with Alphabet to manufacture its Pixel range of phones due to branding issues. Huawei has manufactured the very successful Nexus 6P for the company in the past.

Colin Giles, Huawei's VP of the Consumer Business Group which handles all the company's smartphones, revealed that Google had a strong desire to have no branding on the devices except its own. Google wanted the OEM partner to have nothing to do with the promotion of the Pixel phones including sales which did not fit well with Huawei which then turned its back on the offer.

Since rumours of Google's 2016 Nexus phones started, there was widespread speculation as to which manufacturer would build the phone for Google. Earlier reports suggested it might be Huawei due to the Nexus 6P's success but later reports indicated that Google wanted a manufacturer that would distance itself from the phone's design, branding and more.

Although it may have had Huawei as its first choice as the latest statement suggests, it picked HTC, the Taiwanese manufacturer that was in desperate need of reviving its ailing business. The finished Pixel phones show how there is no mention of HTC at all on the phones except on the battery thus achieving Google's aim of pushing these phones as its very own.

As for Huawei, it made sense for it to keep its reputation as a smartphone manufacturer intact given it was the third largest shipper of smartphones after Samsung and Apple as per latest IDC figures. The company said it was open to working with Google in future projects but was not willing to go back to making phones that did not promote the brand.