Samsung is our most important partner on Android: Pichai

San Francisco, Oct 20 : Acknowledging the role of South Korean tech giant Samsung in the recently launched Pixel 6 series, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that they are the company's most important partner on Android.

In an interview with The Verge, Pichai said that Samsung is a big partner for Google's devices and services team as well.

"There are many components (in this phone) from Samsung to make all of this work as well, so they are a big partner there," Pichai said.

Under the hood, the smartphones are powered by Tensor chipset, which has been developed in-house by Google. The Tensor chip houses the Titan M2 security chip that Google says has the most layers of security.

In August this year, a NikkeiAsia report mentioned that while Google has not revealed who would be manufacturing its new Tensor chips, sources close to the matter have revealed that Samsung will be its production partner and the new chips are based on a 5nm fabrication process.

"From an Android standpoint, we are very focused for example, on the work we are doing with Samsung on foldables, working hard to make that leap and make it successful; the partnership more recently on the watch, which we have done together with them. So I see Android as one of the more customizable and flexible OSes out there," the CEO said.

"It gives Samsung and other OEMs the chance to really innovate. And we have Google also doing that. I think some part of it will grow the pie overall. And I think it's good as a consumer. It's good we want to put out something unique in the market, and it's more choice. So I think it's healthy that way," he added.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro start at $599 and $899, respectively. The phones will be available on store shelves with all major US carriers starting on October 28.