While it is already expected that new Nexus lineups will come out together with Android N, speculations suggest that Google wants to go head to head with the iPhone and will release its own homegrown flagship this year.

According to The Telegraph, Google is already deep in talks with mobile carriers about releasing a Google-branded flagship sometime this year. It is unclear, though, if the alleged new smartphone lineup will be a replacement for the Nexus series or an expansion. Whichever will be the case, it seems that the tech giant is thinking of going in a direct competition with Apple by expanding its own lineup to include hardware products.

While Google technically owns the Nexus brand, the flagships and other devices in the lineup were made by third-party manufacturers. Previous Google Nexus iterations were made with companies like Huawei, LG and Motorola. Even the rumored upcoming Nexus flagships, the follow-ups to the Nexus 5X and 6P, will reportedly be co-manufactured with HTC, and Huawei or Asus is said to come out with a refreshed Nexus 7 tablet.

According to the report, Google having its own brand of smartphone lineup will make the tech giant control more of the specs, features and design of the flagship. To date, it is only in software that Google has full access to the Nexus lineup, since the company fully controls the Android platform.

While the rumor remains unconfirmed, Google venturing out into its own smartphone lineup is certainly possible. The report quotes Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, saying "They are concerned that Android is fragmenting, that it needs to become a more controlled platform... like Apple."

In addition, Google has already made its own ventures into having lineups with other hardware devices, such as hybrid slates and laptops with the Pixel C series.