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No more Nexus?

While I've thoroughly enjoyed all the nexus devices I've owned, there really isn't much recognition as a brand. Dropping it would only reverberate in the geek and techblog communities.
 
Technically they are developer devices. As pure as Android gets to test apps and set a baseline standard for features. The first Nexus phones were more of a press opportunity, than a profit center. I think the N7 and N10 were more to get a bit more Android tablet credibility in the face of the iPad.
 
I'd be sad to see the Nexus devices go, but if manufacturers were faster about getting GPe devices their updates faster, I wouldn't be as bothered.
 
GPE devices are just too expensive imo. Id rather buy the cheaper skinned version and rom it.
I like what Moto are doing lately :)
Something just feels cool about owning a nexus though
 
That is what I said before they need to make two versions of a device one for the people that love to experiment and tinker . and the I am afraid to use my phone to dial a number type of people aka just use and abuse .
 
This is counter to what Larry Page said at the last IO. He said that the Nexus phone pricing was part of Google trying to making technology more affordable. (Of course, he can counter with some PR speak about "the market has self-corrected and driven down prices for devices, so Nexus is no longer necessary from a pricing point of view.)

I also don't want to rely on OEMs to decide which phones they want to make GPE and set their own prices. I trust Google more than any OEM to provide an inexpensive and consistent product line.

======================

Kaoba Allen: What advice would you give to the rising generation of technologists? What would help technology keep moving at the pace it’s been moving at, and how would they do that responsibly?

LP: I think for me, actually, I try to use Google a lot, and I research things really deeply. So you know, before we get something started, I try to actually understand it. And not just really understand it, but understand the crazy people in the area. And Google’s great for that. You can find the craziest person in any given area. And normally I think people don’t do that.

So you want to think about the base thing, whatever it is. Obviously working on smartphones a lot, they’re relatively expensive now. With Nexus 4, we tried to improve that a bit, but if you look at the raw cost of a smartphone, I guess it’s mostly glass and silicon. Tiny bit of silicon, a little bit of fiberglass. I don’t know, the raw materials cost of that is probably like a dollar or something like that. I think glass is 50 cents a pound or something like that. Metals are 20 cents a pound. Phones don’t weigh very much, right? And silicon is very, very cheap.
 
meh.

moto is the new nexus. for all the illogical talk that google was to be indifferent in its dealings with moto, no better or worse than other oem's, me thinks that the inherent synergy there is what may be behind this.

moto is already putting out quality devices, as cheap as any nexus was, with an os skin that i bet is where google wants to take android. and updates? i'll bet anyone that moto gets updates nearly as fast as nexus and gpe devices.

edit: i own 4 nexus devices and the moto x. so i think i'm covered either way. lol
 
The updates on the Droid Bionic were ALWAYS very late.

The Kit Kat update on the Droid Maxx was one of the first.

The Droid Maxx is "cleaner" than an previous Verizon Droid device.

How does Nexus fit in?

... Thom
 
The GPE devices aren't a good replacement for an actual Nexus device in my eyes. The Nexus line is essentially built from the ground up with stock/Google Android in mind, so they have (or at least should have) hardware that perfectly complements the software, and software that complements the hardware. The GPE devices were still originally built for a manufacturer's skin, and a manufacturer's interpretation of Android. As a result, they end up with hardware that doesn't always match up with the stock Android software they get loaded with. Physical navigation buttons, IR blasters and other peripherals not natively supported by Android, etc.

I'd much rather have a Nexus device where everything works as Google envisioned it, not a device that has had stock Android shoehorned onto it as an afterthought.
 
the moto ceo is on record as wanting to push a 50 buck quality cell phone. if larry page stated that the purpose of the nexus was to provide an affordable option, well that option will now be provided by moto.

i'm not buying for a second that google and moto are completely autonomous. moto will be the new nexus in everything but name. maybe i'm wrong, but that is how i'm reading it. time will tell.
 
I can only hope that it isn't true!

While price is often cited as a benefit, I'm not price sensitive, especially if that's an influencing factor in the decision to kill off the Nexus Series. My Nexus 5 is far superior to my tiny iPhone 5S at twice the price. I'd gladly pay one hundred dollars more than the N5's current price if that's what it takes.

For me it's the ability to buy a pure unadulterated Android phone with no bloatware, and carrier branding. Then there's the obvious advantage of updates straight from Google.

I strongly prefer the virtual buttons over old school mechanical buttons that are vulnerable to failing as they have three on my various iPhone's.

Just when the Nexus phones start really getting good, suddenly they're going to kill off the brand.... a true loss for so many of us.

I'm all about embracing change when there's a benefit, perhaps Google's got a plan that'll make sense if this happens. I sure as heck _don't_ want to go back to iOS
 
My Moto G is a sub $200 and one of the most up to date phones out there. :)
Granted, it's not the best, but as a backup or media player, it's a pretty darn good phone. I will never pay GPE prices for a phone, it's just not worth it. Hoping if the "Nexus" brand doesn't stick around, there's still a great, up to date phone at an affordable price.
 
I'm keeping the sodium chloride on standby with this one. Eldar's track record is far from perfect, and I'm not certain this is the first time I've heard such a rumour.

What I would note is that there's a difference between the Nexus phone and a Nexus tablet. The Nexus phone is definitely a minority player, though anecdotally I see more of them in the street than I'd expect (especially the N4, though I know a couple of N5 owners now). But the Nexus 7 is pretty much the only Android tablet I ever see in public - I've seen budget tablets and Samsung Galaxies in shops, but I hardly ever see anyone carrying one. So my impression is that withdrawing the N7 right now would effectively be ceding the tablet market to Apple.
 
i have not had the pleasure of having an n5, but i do have the moto x. and i have an n7, both versions. how is the n5 different from the moto x? seems to me that the moto x simply took the google now dominance to a reasonable next step with its voice and active notifications.

This "pure" android concept is lost on me. if what google puts out is the "pure" android, then it seems to me that google itself didn't like that model, given they've pulled half of android out and put it on the play store.
 
Yeah i read that mate but its like so 2013 :p
I dont believe the rumours though. I see no reason why google would drop the nexus program since it doesnt create a loss or profit for them as it is.
By dropping it all they would achieve is pissing off us geeks :D
 
I don't think nexus is going anywhere anytime soon.

:thumbup:

boathead said:
This "pure" android concept is lost on me. if what google puts out is the "pure" android, then it seems to me that google itself didn't like that model, given they've pulled half of android out and put it on the play store.
Click to expand...
That's simply a way to address android "fragmentation"

If the core apps can be upgraded separate from the OS, the OS version isn't nearly as important.

Problem sidestepped without making carriers and manufacturers play nice and get updates out faster
 
All one needs to do to read the public's opinion on GPE devices to to watch Google IO from this past year and listen to the crickets chirp when they announced the price. What makes the Nexus device so special is the combination of price, hardware, free from carrier interference, and complete control over the bootloader. On GPE devices, you still have to go through the OEM's bootloader unlock procedure which is more work than a simple "fastboot oem unlock"
 
Yeah.
Even as a symbolic thing, if google did drop Nexus, to me, it would say that theyre no longer interested in aosp and 3rd party developer input. I'd be very very disappointed and disillusioned but the more i think about it the less likely it seems and the chances are that this blogger just wanted the huge publicity that he's just earned himself :)
 
I actually just remember another thing about GPE devices. Unless I'm mistaken, they're still exclusive to the US. While Nexus devices are available worldwide.
 
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