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