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The Made By Google event which was concluded in San Francisco this morning didn’t just see the introduction of a wide variety of first-party hardware but also some collaborative efforts and related initiatives from the Alphabet-owned company, including a new certification program simply called Made For Google. Rumors of the platform already started circulating the industry earlier this week, with Google now officially confirming them and naming exactly 25 hardware partners that have already been enrolled in an experimental version of the program in recent months.
The existing Made For Google partners include the likes of Incipio, Anker, Belkin, Moshi, Speck, Griffin, Bellroy, and The Mint Gardener, as revealed by the company on stage earlier today. The names themselves suggest that the initiative is to encompass all kinds of smartphone accessories ranging from protective cases and chargers to headphones, earbuds, and possibly gamepads or styluses. The Mountain View, California-based internet giant is understood to be providing its partners with some level of support as far as product development is concerned and subsequently certify their offerings as being suitable for use with its own hardware and software. The entire setup is somewhat reminiscent of Apple’s MFi program and is based on a similar reasoning, with Google hoping to increase the average quality of third-party accessories designed for its ecosystem while simultaneously supporting its hardware partners and possibly help them move more products.
The Made For Google program is hence supposed to complement the Made By Google portfolio and is likely to be featured rather prominently on retail packagings of devices which were certified by Alphabet’s subsidiary. If Apple’s case is any indication, accessories bearing the “Made For Google” label may also be somewhat more expensive than their average alternatives but primarily because they should also be of a significantly higher quality and presumably worth your money. More details on the program are expected to be revealed shortly as first Made For Google accessories make their way to the Google Store in the United States and other select countries. The first wave of such products will presumably be designed for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL which are set to become commercially available in the coming weeks.