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Sundar Pichai Says Google Will Be 'More Opinionated' About Nexus Design (theverge.com)

Jacob Kastrenakes, reporting for The Verge: Google intends to take more control over the Nexus line going forward. During an interview at the Code Conference today, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that his company would "be more opinionated about the design of the phones," particularly where Google sees a need to "push the devices forward." That sounds like he could be referring to Google's desire to highlight new technologies with its Nexus devices. [...] But what Pichai focused on during the interview was software. We're used to getting stock Android on Nexus phones, but Pichai says that could change. "You'll see us hopefully add more features on top of Android on Nexus phones," he said. "There's a lot of software innovation to be had."

5 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. Odd... by xlsior · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The whole POINT of Nexus has always been to provide -stock- Android experience, without shovelware and other 'enhancements'. Seems an odd departure.

    1. Re:Odd... by Dog-Cow · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No. The whole POINT [sic] of the Nexus line has been to provide a platform that Google controls. Now Google is going to exert more control.

  2. Re:Will they stop going backwards? by jareth-0205 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It *is* an extra attack vector though, since there is now two ways to get into your phone (password and finger) rather than one. Super-convenient, admittedly, but a security gap nonetheless. There's a legal distinction that might cause an issue too - you can't be compelled to give over a password, but information *about* you like your fingerprint is fair game so you can be compelled to provide that.

    In some ways fingerprints are terrible security tokens - you leave your token recorded on any surface you touch!

  3. Re:Feature list by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Oh, I forgot, I'm supposed to throw $500 in the landfill every couple of years.

  4. Re:Be more opinionated about your damn software by cdrudge · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Rotating in all directions? Quite frankly if you need to hold your phone upside down then something on the phone is misdesigned.

    At the end of the day, my phone sometimes doesn't have quite enough juice to use just before I fall asleep. So I need to plug it in to use it while lying down in bed. The charge port is on the bottom of the phone so I either need to have the cord stabbing me in the chest holding the phone right side up, or if I flip the phone 180 degrees, the home screen is upside down.

    So, in this situation, what is misdesigned?