Google strikes a $1.1 billion deal with mobile company HTC

At first glance, its acquisition of a team of smartphone engineers from HTC might seem to be about helping its line of Pixel phones better compete with the iPhone. But to me, the deal is as much about making sure the Android operating system and the company itself remain relevant into the imminent next wave of computing. 

Change is in the air. Over the next decade, smartphones are going to give way to smart speakers, like the Google Home, and smart eyewear, like Google Glass. And Google needs help if it's going to maintain its leadership position in the tech industry.

Google announced late Wednesday that it was going to be spend $1.1 billion to acquire a team of about 2,000 smartphone engineers from HTC. The team helped Google build its Pixel phones, and it will give the company a group of hardware experts in-house. That could help the company better compete with the iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy phones in the smartphone market.