T-Mobile has announced it’s partnering with Google for a huge agreement between the companies that will see the former push the latter’s services to customers. The Uncarrier says it’s the service provider with the “most Android smartphone customers in the US,” so a partnership like this makes sense.\
Of course, if you don’t already own an Android phone on T-Mobile, the carrier will also be asking you to buy one. Along with various apps like Google Messages and Google One, Google’s Pixel line of phones will be marketed heavily thanks to the agreement which should hopefully bolster more hardware sales for the search giant.
According to the press release, T-Mobile will begin relying on Google Messages for all of the smartphones it sells in order to provide RCS support for far more people. That means you’ll get higher-quality photo and video sharing, the ability to chat over Wi-Fi and data, read receipts, typing indicators, and more when texting someone. The Uncarrier will also be working with Google to build a “messaging business together” – a.k.a. the ability for businesses to communicate with customers through chat, like on Apple’s iMessage.
T-Mobile will also begin promoting Google One for subscribers who want cloud storage instead of its own solutions. I’m sure there’s been at least one time where a carrier’s app has asked you to backup all of your stuff into a crappy app it created. Luckily, that won’t be happening with the Uncarrier any longer.
Some of the biggest news out of this announcement has to do with YouTube TV. According to T-Mobile, it’s killing off its TVision Live plans and services effective on April 29th. In its place will live YouTube TV which will be offered at $10 off its original price for T-Mobile subscribers. To sweeten the deal, you’ll also be able to get three months free of YouTube Premium.
If you’re unfamiliar with TVision, it was T-Mobile’s grand vision of dominating the live TV streaming market the same way it did carriers. However, nearly six months after it was unveiled, it’s already being shot down, hinting that plans didn’t go so well for the Uncarrier. It also seems to highlight how big and important YouTube TV has become, hence T-Mobile will now direct customers to Google’s solution over its own.
Rounding things off, expect to hear a lot more about the Google Pixel from T-Mobile. The carrier will be pushing the phone through a ton of marketing, just like what Verizon did back in 2016 with the original Pixel. It isn’t clear how much T-Mobile’s approach will help, but I suppose any little bit will.
“We’re building on our decade-long relationship with Google to give customers an even better experience with the world’s very best products and services offered by Android, Pixel and YouTube,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “The world’s most popular smartphone platform with Android, a broad range of premium Pixel devices, an upgraded, modern messaging experience on Android and a robust entertainment offering with YouTube TV — it’s the best of Google, combined with the nation’s largest and fastest 5G network on T-Mobile.”
All in all, this deal is pretty massive. It continues a journey the two companies have been on together since the first Android phone was released back in 2008, with the Uncarrier selling the device as an exclusive handset. Since then, the two conglomerates have worked together on various projects, with today’s announcement being one of the most significant. It’ll be interesting to see how much good the deal does over time.
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