TAIPEI — After tons of rumors, leaked memos, and article after article of intense speculation, the news is out: Google is buying HTC — at least part of it.
Reuters reports that the Taiwanese smartphone maker suspended trading of its shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Thursday, pending a 'major announcement.'
That announcement involves Google forking over $1.1 billion for part of HTC's mobile division, which includes a non-exclusive license for HTC IP, and a chunk of the R&D team that's been working on Google's Pixel phone.
About half of HTC's R&D people will soon be Googlers. The other half will stay on at HTC to work on their next flagship phone.
Guess the original smartphone maker doesn't want out of the game just yet, even after plummeting from the top spot in 2010 to this year's pitiful 0.6% global market share.
HTC's quiet brilliance did bounce back with the Vive, largely considered the best virtual reality headset on the market.
The company was also responsible for the the ravely reviewed Pixel and Pixel XL phones in 2016, as well as the Pixel 2, which will be unveiled in October.
Despite its lack of home runs, HTC does have a reputation for producing excellent hardware. Google is hoping to get the hardware-software synergy that's been the iPhone's secret sauce.
With the deal expected to be done by early 2018, here's hoping the tide will soon turn for HTC.
