Google to collaborate with Xiaomi on new Android One phone

The Android One program was launched by Google in 2014 as a means of delivering low-end devices under the Google umbrella, with the design, marketing, and development of the devices left to Google's safe hands. Everything but the actual manufacturing process, really, as that would be handled by the OEM. The program has seen a number of devices distributed around the world under different brands including Micromax, Sharp, and Karbonn. New information has claimed that Xiaomi will be the next OEM to enter a collaboration with Google in the Android One program.

Xiaomi are undoubtedly one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world, with the company holding significant market shares in India and China, an achievement mostly due to its firm grip on the budget and mid-range segments. This collaboration with Google will be the first time an OEM on the scale of Xiaomi produces an Android One phone, as most of the previous entries were manufactured by smaller OEMs willing to delve into the tail end of the budget market.

Not much is known about the device but sources claim it draws inspiration from the newly released Xiaomi Mi 5X, which points towards a Snapdragon 625 SoC on it, at least. It will be interesting to see the final product of this endeavor, as the thought of having clean, stock Google software on Xiaomi hardware would be, well, an archetypal case of getting the best of both worlds.