Qualcomm Inc. said it plans to collaborate with Google on the Android Things operating system, which Google announced on Dec. 13.
With the move, Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) hopes to grow another market for its Snapdragon line of microprocessors.
Android Things is a new vertical of Android designed for internet of things devices — connected machines that include home appliances, medical devices and all variety of sensors that can share data with other machines. Android Things is currently available in a “developer preview” version and is expected to be more widely available in 2017.
“We anticipate Android Things running on Snapdragon processors will offer developers familiar connectivity environments, including cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; support for a wide array of sensors; camera, graphics, multimedia and rich [user interface] capabilities; hardware-based security; Google services and cloud integration; test and optimization tools, and more — allowing for rapid development of scalable, cost-effective and security-focused IoT [internet of things] solutions,” Qualcomm said in a statement on Dec. 13.
Google is part of Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG).
