Google doesn't plan on making its own phones

Holding your breath for a Google-made phone to call your own? We suggest you exhale.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said today at the Code Conference that the company doesn't plan on making its own phones, and instead will continue working with third-party manufacturers to pump out mobile devices. There's been persistent speculation that Google would go ahead and make its own phone, but Pichai squashed that rumor.

Here's how it went down: The Verge and Recode's Walt Mossberg put forward to Pichai that Google will release its own phone next year, to which Pichai replied that Google works and will continue to do so with OEMs to produce the Nexus line of phones.

"We are investing more effort into that," Pichai said. "We'll put a lot more thought into our Nexus devices."

Pichai did note Google will be actively involved in improving Nexus mobiles to "push the devices forward," particularly when it comes to design and software.

While stock Android is a welcome trademark of Nexus products, Pichai said we'll see Google "thoughtfully add more features into Nexus phones."

"There's more software innovations to be had," he said.

He also said Google will "be more opinionated about the design of the phones", and that the company is working with OEMs to make improvements on that front.

Mossberg wouldn't let Pichai off that easy, however, posing directly whether the company will make its own phones. Pichai replied: "No, our plan is to work with OEMs to make phones."

Ara sure?

A pretty critical side note to all of this is that Google will actually make its own consumer phone, the Project Ara modular phone, due out next year.

Pichai may have simply been stuck on Nexus, which have been built by such partners as LG, HTC and Huawei, and not about the device coming out of its ATAP division.

The Ara phone, which lets users swap out parts as they please, may be more of an early adopter device and may not gain that much of a public following.

For now, Google's OEM partners can rest assured that Google isn't giving up on them when it comes to the more consumer-friendly Nexus devices. At least, not any time soon.

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