Google might announce a certification initiative at its event this week.

9to5Google has claimed that Google is readying a certification program for third-party accessories. It’ll apparently be called “Made for Google.” And that's about all we know. The announcement should come “soon", and because we know Google has an event set for 4 October, we can safely assume Google will discuss it then.

So, if you're thinking, "What's the point of this program?", just look at Apple’s MFi (Made For iPhone/iPad/iPod) program. In a nut shell: Third-party manufacturers that want to certify their accessories, so that customers can feel safe buying their goods, go through MFi to get a badge to put on their box that says their product is approved by Apple.

Apple issues these badges to guarantee a level of quality, but it also requires that third parties use official standards, such as chips and connectors, which sometimes only Apple sells, so Apple benefits from this program in the end. We don't yet know if Google plans to do the same thing, but we might know for sure on 4 October.

That's when Google plans to announce its next Pixel devices, and possibly this Made for Google program. See Pocket-lint's guide here for more info about the event.