Google Project Fi Tips New Mid-Tier Device In 2017

This afternoon the folks at Google's Project Fi tipped that they'd be bringing a new device to their service. What they suggested on Twitter is that they'll have a "new Fi-compatible device at a mid-tier price from one of our partners later this year." That could mean that there's a new device – like one we've never seen before – but it could also mean that Google will make use of a device that's already out in the wild, "new" just meaning it's new to the service.

I believe that the best way for Google to bring a mid-tier device to the public with Project Fi is to tap a partner Google's worked with many times before. Instead of creating a whole new device, it'd make sense for Project Fi to team up with Motorola for this sort of a launch. The most prominent name in mid-tier smartphone prowess in the past several years is Motorola – and now that they're owned by Lenovo, Google has twice the reason to make it happen.

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While the company has worked with HTC before – most recently with their Google Pixel devices – I don't believe the timing is right for this sort of connection. The timing MIGHT be right for LG to come back into the fold now that they have no major Nexus smartphone on the block – but LG's been moving away from pushing too much into the mid-tier universe for smartphones lately. Unless, of course, they go for the LG X Charge.

The LG X Charge was launched this week with Comcast's new wireless service Xfinity. The LG X Charge works with a 5.5-inch HD display, meaning it's big, but the display isn't super sharp so it'll be available for a relatively low price. The big selling point on the X Charge from LG is its 4,500mAh battery – that's quite massive.

If on the other hand the deal is made with Motorola, the Project Fi team will likely go with a device like Moto E or Moto G. Moto G is closer to the mid-range now while Moto E is sticking to the least expensive tier of phones from the Moto-maker. We'll see soon enough – stick around our Project Fi tag portal for more!