Can Google take advantage of the current smartphone market trends and make the Nexus line more popular? About this in the continuation of the material of the last issue.
A brief history of the Nexus
The only surviving photograph of my beloved Nexus One. Glowing trackball I miss
The first few devices in the Nexus line were clearly positioned as reference devices: despite the focus on developers and enthusiasts, with the help of the Nexus One, Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus in Mountain View tried to promote the idea of buying a smartphone from Google to the masses. I think everyone will agree that clearly distinguishable changes began with the Nexus 4. The device was inexpensive, had a good 'stuffing' and an unusual exterior, it could theoretically be purchased directly from Google, plus everything, according to my assumptions, the company did a little work on promotion product.
In this regard, the Nexus 4 became the starting point for Google, the company decided to go further and it worked for the Nexus 5, which is likely to become the best-selling Nexus device. The same relatively low cost, the same good equipment and direct sales from Google in more countries. But compared to the more expensive flagships of competitors, the Nexus 5 looked completely unprofitable, and the device did not have a sensible follower.
In 2014, the launch of the Android Silver program was planned – Google's attempts to partner with other smartphone OEMs to turn stock Android into a source of income. Nothing to say, an ambitious undertaking. Rather than competing with other manufacturers, Google could select any five devices at any time to promote them with (for starters) North American cellular operators as 'Silver Edition' devices. They would work on stock Android, receive updates directly from Google for a guaranteed period, have access to a direct Google support line (similar to Mayday from Amazon), warranty and insurance from lost, there was even a whole program in which the company wanted to train the staff of the offices of cellular operators to transfer information from old devices of users to promoted devices and demonstrate to users the principles of operation of various Google services.
It seems to be a good device, but in retrospect the Nexus 6 did not fit into the concept of the line.
The program completely failed, not having time to translate into reality. Silver's launch partner was to be the Nexus 6, known for a while as the Moto S, and that plan was scrapped after the closure of Silver and the Moto S was renamed Nexus 6. The problem was that the Nexus 6 didn't follow. laid down by Google in the previous devices of the line canons. It could not be called inexpensive, the dimensions of the device were clearly knocked out of the mass market of devices, and the appearance of the device itself differed from the already formed Nexus design language. So from Nexus there was only a name and software in the device.
However, with last year's 5X and 6P, Google reverted back to the model the company created for the Nexus 4 and 5, but in double size, releasing two devices at once with deliberate differentiation in cost and screen size. The uncompromising Nexus 6P easily beat the rival flagships in terms of price and is still quite possibly the best Android device in terms of value for money, especially if you got it even with a small discount. Project Fi, Nexus Protect, the Google Now launcher, Google Camera, and other apps and services are pieces of the puzzle that have begun to shape the Nexus lineup in a way that we could only dream of five years ago.
Nexus time
Remember all the talk about slowing down innovation in smartphone hardware? There is a plus in this process: thanks to it, it has become easier and cheaper to create a smartphone that in many respects can compete with similar devices from other manufacturers. Will it be performed just as well? Not at all necessary. And have all the functions of a camera? Probably no. But if you can promote it for half the retail price of a bestselling smartphone and still retain 90% of its quality specs, then you already have the recipe for success. All that remains is to bring your product to users.
The declining pace of hardware innovation is also making it more difficult for competing manufacturers to differentiate, and many of them may well resort to tricks in their attempts to create an unusual impression and thus stand out from the crowd. None of them at this stage, of course, can afford to exclude Google services from their devices, nor can they penetrate Android in a way that only Google can. Yes, Google has already pushed many of its innovative software products into other applications and services, but the company still has the ability to exercise massive control that other vendors do not. In Nexus devices, engineers from Mountain View can offer a level of hardware and software integration that is unattainable for cooperation with conventional partners on Android, because this integration in both aspects is based on Google products, in contrast to the devices of those manufacturers who build their own business model with an emphasis on third-party software for itself. And, of course, all of the above becomes part of the OS itself Android, but there is no pressure on manufacturers to make them implement any innovations in their devices, for example, presented in the 5X and 6P Sensor Hub.
The Nexus 6P plays surprisingly well as an adequate smartphone that you might actually want to get.
Although the aforementioned devices are not ideal (especially the 5X), they are still the best representatives of the line in its entire history.Many critics openly called the Nexus 6P the best Android – a device that none of its predecessors could even get close to . All the pieces of the puzzle have finally come together and the Nexus will be able to become a significant player in the US market (I can not evaluate foreign markets). And along with the growing problems of smartphone manufacturers with profitability and adequate differentiation of their products, Google's strengths in the Nexus area (not tied to profitability of a key business component and direct control over Android) are becoming more relevant than ever.
I'm really looking forward to the next update to the Nexus line, I think Google is aware of a positive trend in public opinion for itself. By and large, I believe that there is a very tiny gap between the Nexus 6P and the Galaxy S7 Edge, much less than what existed between the Nexus 4 and the Galaxy S4, and Google seems to be getting as close as possible every year to reaching the optimal Nexus formula, for the exception of the miss with the Nexus 6 and Silver. And 6P's success in achieving public recognition is not a coincidence. Nexus may soon be seriously nerving its competitors, Google is as close as possible to that. I will not mind.
Original material by David Ruddock
I really want to hope that the next device / devices in the Nexus line will be able to help Google somehow stir up the market. If this is done through a partnership with HTC, rumors of which have been circulating in the media space for some time now, it will be doubly good. It is the simultaneous deep integration of both software and hardware that modern Android devices lack and Google is able to fix this annoying feature of the platform. So why not take a step forward and get things off the ground?
However, I want to admit that some manufacturers are ahead of Google in terms of innovation and their application in devices. So we need to move in this direction as well. I sincerely want to wish the company success on this difficult path. If only everything did not turn out to be the same 'zilch' as the promising Silver at one time.