I think it's definitely a way to start combining the Pixel branding with the ChromeOS branding under "Pixel" to make any future crossover easier. Other than th

I think it's definitely a way to start combining the Pixel branding with the ChromeOS branding under "Pixel" to make any future crossover easier. Other than that, though, why would carriers have to be involved? Sure, if you buy a carrier-branded device they get their hands in it but it could just as easily work the way Nexus did on any non-carrier-branded device. If anything, I see the "Pixel" move as a way to start moving away from that side of Android and all it entails. Idle speculation: I wonder if the end goal is for "Android" to stick around as the "anyone can port it to their device" OS as it is currently, with "Pixel" being Google's more in-house label that they can treat like Apple does iOS or Google currently does with standard, unbranded Nexus.