Why Google’s Android-Pixel Reorg Is a Big Deal

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been criticized for avoiding tough decisions, but on Thursday he may have resolved one of the biggest questions hanging over the company: what to do about Android, the main rival to Apple as a smartphone operating system. Android has long played second fiddle to the iPhone in the U.S. while dominating globally. But lately, it has been losing more ground to Apple in key markets.

On Thursday, Pichai sent shockwaves across Google by merging the teams that oversee Android with those running Pixel, a Google-designed Android phone, under the oversight of top Pixel executive Rick Osterloh. Pichai said the move would “reimagine computing platforms for the next decade,” including incorporating more artificial intelligence into devices. Fair enough, but that glosses over what’s going on and why it matters.