Google wants to live in the real world

The announcement from Google of the new Pixel phones highlights not just a change in direction but also a change in culture. The Pixel Phone, Daydream View, Chromecast Ultra, Google Home and Google Wifi are products that Google will now produce, with partner assistance, under there own branding. Why make this shift from software provider to hardware producer? At the moment Google is seen by many people as a search engine and email provider. Android is arguable Google's most successful software but it has been used as a platform to promote other brands.
Microsoft, has failed to convert its dominance in software into a dominance in the real world. Windows was used by every manufacturer to help sell their products but this did not help sell Microsoft as a brand. They are attempting to change this by creating the surface products, to enginer a tactil affinity for their brand.
Can Google emulate Apple's success as a hardware manufacturer, without a physical presence in the shopping malls of the world? The new products create a discussion about Google as a brand. The next step is Andromeda the merging of Chrome and Android. A software platform which will become the basis of the Google system, tying the phones and other devices to laptops and desktops. A software bridge to the real world.
The question is, has Google learnt from Microsofts example? By allowing other companies to control the quality of the products you produce do you damage the brand? Brands are built on loyalty and quality. Google has loyalty only time will tell if they have quality.