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Google To Take 'Apple-Like' Control Over Nexus Phones (droid-life.com)

Posted by timothy on from the and-that's-saying-something dept.

Soulskill writes: According to a (paywalled) report in The Information, Google CEO Sundar Pichai wants the company to take greater control over development of their Nexus smartphones. When producing Nexus phones, Google has always partnered with manufacturers, like Samsung, LG, and HTC, who actually built the devices. Rather than creating a true revenue stream, Google's main goal has been to provide a reference for what Android can be like without interference from carriers and manufacturers. (For example, many users are frustrated by Samsung's TouchWiz skin, as well as the bloatware resulting from deals with carriers.

But now, Google appears to want more control. The report indicates Google wants to do a better job of competing throughout the market. They want to compete with Apple on the high end, but also seem concerned that manufacturers haven't put enough effort into quality budget phones. The article at Droid-Life argues, "We all know that Nexus phones will never be household items until Google puts some marketing dollars behind them. Will a top-to-bottom approach finally push them to do that?"

23 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. Nexus aren't satisfactory by Stormwatch · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would not buy a phone without a microSD slot, and the Nexus line fails by not including such an essential feature.

    But, more important than that: Google definitely should put more pressure on manufacturers and carriers to keep the phones' OS updated for longer.

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
    1. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by Microlith · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I disagree. Nexus devices are satisfactory but not exceptional. They lack essential features like SD Card slots and don't really feature any nifty "bits" to mess with, but are the only devices guaranteed over the long term to receive regular updates, and that alone makes them better. Everything else is, by far, less than satisfactory due to the emphasis of gimmicks or poorly implemented features while often neglecting or actively harming security.

    2. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by YouGotTobeKidding · · Score: 2

      IDK... its not that hard to root and install a custom rom on them these days.Maybe 2 minutes work.... even on Sammys its dead simple nowadays. So much so that 'guaranteed' updates is meh... and not worth the trade-offs that have to be made if I purchase a Nexus model.

    3. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by youngone · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I disagree with both Microlith and Stormwatch.

      Any phone without a micro SD card slot and a removable battery is of no use to me at all, and I will not buy.

      The really fortunate thing with the whole Android range is that Microlith, Stormwatch and I can each buy the phone we want, with the features we need, usually at the price we wish to pay as wel..

      There are other types of smartphone too, they don't have the same range of different models, but some people seem to like them.

      As far as security goes, the manufacturers are hopeless at providing updates, but for the tech-savvy consumer, updates can be installed, with a small amount of messing around and a custom ROM. I know that's not ideal, and to vast majority of people won't be able to do it, but it is an option.

    4. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by SumDog · · Score: 2

      Google already has tons of control. Their Open Handset Alliance (the program a company is required to sign with in order to distribute GApps) disallows those companies from offering phones with competing eco-systems. (HTC, Samsung, Sony, etc can never offer a phone with the Amazon app store and services). Google even went after carriers who tried to use a different location service (which is still in court).

      Android might be open source, but to make it usable, the rest is closed.

    5. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by Dorianny · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I would not buy a phone without a microSD slot, and the Nexus line fails by not including such an essential feature.

      But, more important than that: Google definitely should put more pressure on manufacturers and carriers to keep the phones' OS updated for longer.

      One persons essential features are another's rarely used amenities. Features such as microSD slots or removable batteries take space and as such they come with the trade-offs of added bulk or smaller battery. Fortunately unlike apple's iPhone family the android ecosystem is open and there are a plethora of devices out there to satisfy most peoples needs and budgets

    6. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by fustakrakich · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A removable battery is a necessary safety feature, and the only way to ensure the phone is powered off.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    7. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by spire3661 · · Score: 2

      The removable battery thing stopped being an issue when stupid cheap battery banks became available. I have one custom built by Motorola for the Moto G/X line. Its effectively the same thing as having a removable battery other than being able to remove all power easily. I carried removable batteries for almost a decade, now i just keep the motorola battery handy. Did i mention i paid $10 for it....

      http://ecx.images-amazon.com/i...

      --
      Good-bye
    8. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by stephanruby · · Score: 2

      A removable battery is a necessary safety feature, and the only way to ensure the phone is powered off.

      Not for me, it's perfectly safe for me now.

      Once I figured out that the Faraday bag over my head needed breathing holes, my black fingers and my daily hypoxiation became a thing of the past.

    9. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by bickerdyke · · Score: 2

      SDCard handling in Android has been broken more or less from the beginning. Got worse when the first phones without SDslot mounted part of their internal memory as "external" and I'm not sure if the latest contraptions to fix that fixed anything or just turned it into a different way of broken.

      It IS broken when you have GB of free space but can't install anything because some smaller memory partition is full.

      --
      bickerdyke
    10. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by SQLGuru · · Score: 2

      I listen to / watch many podcasts. Due to the data volumes, I download most of them over wi-fi at home so I can consume the content on the go. An SD card is essential for a consumer like me. Even a 16GB phone is quickly overwhelmed when you've got over 80 active podcast subscriptions. I'm "current", so I only have episodes that were released last night and I'm sitting at almost 8GB of space consumed. Considering that my 16GB phone doesn't have 16GB of space, that's over half of the available space.

      And more of the video podcasts are trying to go to 4K (why, I don't know --- 720p for a podcast is a good balance between content, video quality, and file size). One of the podcasts I watch released a 2.3GB file the other day (not included in the 8GB above). So, even with phones going to 32GB and more, the content is expanding to consume all of that new space.

      So, while YOU may not want an SD card, I certainly do. But I also realize that not everyone uses their phone the same way. That's why there aren't just one model of each manufacturer's phone.

    11. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by serviscope_minor · · Score: 2

      They annouced that there would be no more updates, that's how. They relented when they found a major screw up. You won't be getting Android 6 despite the phone being perfectly usable with it.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    12. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by The-Ixian · · Score: 2

      exactly.

      Why would you NOT want an SD card if it was available? More space is good.

      To say (as the GP is suggesting) that people don't want these feature is BS. It is simply the manufacturers determining what people "want" for them and then people not raising a fuss about it because it is "good enough"

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    13. Re: Nexus aren't satisfactory by dpidcoe · · Score: 2

      Wait, last I knew you're allowed to unlock the bootloader if you own the phone. If you decide to make monthly payments on it instead of buying it outright, then you made your choice to deal with a locked bootloader.

    14. Re:Nexus aren't satisfactory by spire3661 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      When we talk about removable in this context it usually means it can be done without tools by the end user in the field. You are talking about whether its REPLACEABLE, which is a different argument. Most phone's batteries are replaceable by a person familiar with electronics. My Moto G battery isnt removable in this context, but i could easily replace it with a new battery for about $6.

      --
      Good-bye
  2. Nexus 9 had finish issues by Harlequin80 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I own a Nexus 9 and I think it is a good solid tablet. But mine looks raggedy as hell because the matt finish on the back is only a thin film overlay that has worn off all over the place and in others is lifting like old dead skin. So face up it looks good, face down it looks like a 20 year old tablet that has had a hard life.

    The other comment someone else made is around the microSD slot. Particularly for a tablet, which is a pure media consumption device, it should have an SD slot.

    1. Re:Nexus 9 had finish issues by tsqr · · Score: 2

      Hey grandpa: use a streaming service!

      And personally I find streaming off Plex a lot more convenient than fiddling about the SD cards.

      Hey junior: how convenient is your streaming service when you're on an airplane with no connectivity?

    2. Re:Nexus 9 had finish issues by just+another+AC · · Score: 2

      Hey grandpa: use a streaming service!

      And personally I find streaming off Plex a lot more convenient than fiddling about the SD cards.

      Wow, what an enlightened young tech guru. Please can you tell me where you live so I can move there immediately?

      You obviously have truly unlimited data plans with absolutely flawless coverage even indoors and underground and a really brilliant streaming service that offers every possible show (including rare movies from decades ago and all my videos of family vacations etc), so I will be able to watch whatever I want whenever I want.

      The only reason to want an SD card is because I'm not with the times...

    3. Re:Nexus 9 had finish issues by Harlequin80 · · Score: 2

      Of course it depends on the specific device. I have a couple of nexus 4s and 5s kicking around that look fine. I also have an old nexus 7 that looked fine till my daughter dropped it down the stairs. The nexus 9 though has a particular problem with that coating.

      Someone else's nexus 9 they took a photo of - https://lh3.googleusercontent....

  3. Re:I can think of one way to make them better. by sexconker · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As much as I hate it, that ship has sailed.
    Touch screens suuuuuuuuuuuuuuck for input.

  4. not very Apple-like to give your OS to all OEMs by raymorris · · Score: 2

    The Apple business model for mobile is that to use their software, you must use their hardware, you can only buy media from them and use their media player (iTunes), etc. Google's is, and continues to be, that you can use their OS with any hardware, buy media from any source, and play it with any app. So pretty much the opposite of Apple.

    Google plans to have higher quality on their reference design / flagship, the Nexus line. That's cool. Not really related to Apple at all. I suppose Apple doesn't make cheapie crap for the lowest-budget market, such as an $89 tablet, but that's nothing unique to Apple. Heck, even the companies that DO make low-end stuff often don't brand it as theirs, they use a different marque.

  5. Re:timothy timothy, who the fuck is timothy? by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why is "timothy" the author of ALL articles on the front page right now?

    Bit late to the party, aren't you? Timothy has been the author of every front page article since last Friday.

  6. Didn't google do this already? by Cute+Fuzzy+Bunny · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Didn't they own Motorola and have complete control? Then got rid of that because it made all of the other phone makers feel bad?

    What makes a Nexus phone different from an iphone? Neither has an SD card or replaceable battery, yet the Nexus always seems to be about half the price.

    I've never had to replace a battery in a phone before it was old and slow and not what I wanted anymore.

    I'm rarely out of wifi range AND need direct and immediate access to tons of data, nor have I ever filled up a 32GB phone with what I want to take with me.