Recent reports from TheInformation.com suggest that Google might kill the Nexus family of phones and tablets in favor of high-end Android Silver devices.
One of the things that made the Nexus line so popular was the price-quality ratio. At half the price of their Apple counterparts, Nexus smartphones and tablets packed plenty of firepower to satisfy even the most pretentious Android users. Still, after this year’s Nexus 6 smartphone (which most likely will also be made by LG) and the Nexus 8 tablet HTC is rumored to work on, the line will be no more. If anyone wants to analyze the names of the products, they might notice that after 6 comes 7, and Nexus 7 already is a product. Have to admit that Google might not have thought this through when they started naming their devices. The new Android Silver line makes sense not only from a naming viewpoint.
The launch of the Android Silver handsets will mark a change on how Google treats its own products and customers. By creating a new line of products, Google tightens the competition with Apple, while diminishing at the same time the power (and the market share) of Samsung.
The Information reports that “The expensive effort involves dumping the Nexus phone brand in favor of a new programme called Silver, under which manufacturers and wireless carriers will be paid to produce and sell high-end devices that closely adhere to Google specifications, according to four people briefed on the project.”
LG and Motorola (whom Google sold to Lenovo earlier this year) might be the first one to build Android Silver smartphones. On the other hand, Samsung, HTC and Sony might not have this privilege so soon, so they will remain with the satisfaction of having Google Play editions of their handsets.
A new line of products could represent the best opportunity for Google to launch a new version of Android, maybe even 5.0. This move has been anticipated for a while, but instead of making it, Google decided to take small steps.
In the end, the role of the Android Silver line is to reduce the bloatware and the number of non-Google apps that come on Android phones. That and delivering products of an even higher quality.
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