Nexus – Universal Smartphones?

If we look at smartphones as something more than just a collection of components, we can see a clear contrast in the ecosystem.

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Summer is in full swing, which means that the announcement of new smartphones based on Android is not far off. You know, this is perhaps the first summer in a long time when I watch the upcoming announcements from a safe distance. I catch myself on the fact that again, as has been the custom since the beginning of the year, I look at the headlines about 'leaks' of information about not yet released devices, shrug my shoulders and skip them.

Is it strange? Maybe. Lately, I (a professional writer of articles on Android) have less and less enthusiasm for the hardware of upcoming smartphones. The reason is simple: over time, pieces of the 'puzzle' Android such as software, ecosystem and overall user experience have become more important than the device itself. As I said at the beginning of the year, explaining the decision to abandon smartphone reviews, the main interest begins to appear only when you take the device in your hand. And so I've reached the point where Google's Nexus line is the only device I can recommend with a clear conscience to friends or family, at least to those brave and / or desperate enough to ask me for this. advice.

Let me explain: a few years ago I could not have given such a straightforward assessment of these devices. In the end, the Nexus 6 was the first device from Google that could work with all carriers in the United States, it was released in 2014. And last year's Nexus 6P was an example of how Google was able to make minimal compromises in terms of hardware and create a device whose cost was much lower than comparable top flagships. It all comes down to the 'container', the device itself. Exactly so: as the aforementioned 'puzzle pieces' came to the fore for me, the device itself, upon reaching a certain level of assembly, became simply a 'container', which should not come to the fore and should not interfere with important functional features to provide a better user experience. experience. The task turned out to be overwhelming for almost all devices, except for the Nexus.

Comprehensive approach

Part of the problem is the user interface and the constant obsessive desire of most OEMs to change something just for the sake of the change, update. These steps result in a fragmented and confusing experience that is characterized by a riot and heterogeneity of graphic styles and ways of navigating within a single device. This happens when manufacturer-custom interface elements collide with the rest of the Material Design interface.

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The problem is also the many applications from the same category and the redundant services that are literally stuffed with Android – smartphones not from Google. It's become a meme of sorts among those closely following the OS, but having multiple voice assistants, app stores, and browsers preinstalled will negatively impact the out-of-the-box experience. A similar scenario with the good old problem with updates Android. We all know the deal: when it comes to major updates, Nexus devices receive them quickly and consistently, while owners of other smartphones have to wait months for updates if the manufacturer decides on them at all. Although malware has no longer posed such a threat to Android devices lately, monthly security policy updates are always helpful. Nexus devices get them first, others are already following them, some are not updated at all.

All of these factors are potential 'checkmarks' that pop up when buying a device, and as our focus shifts to non-hardware aspects, they become more difficult to ignore.

The big picture

If you think about it, the idea is quite meaningful. Most manufacturers make a profit, you know, from selling phones. And there is no surprise that it is the sale of phones that comes to the fore for them. Timely updates take time and effort to prepare and do not have a direct impact on the user in terms of purchasing the latest device, that is, on receiving immediate profits.

On the other hand, Google makes money by encouraging us to use the Internet through its web services. The company is not focused on maximizing the profit from the sale of hardware, they want to make the user experience in Android as pleasant as possible, so that you can use the device to the maximum, which in turn will provide Google with more information about you and allow you to display advertising content that you are more likely to be interested in. It's all in the business model: Google's primary goal in the Nexus part is to deliver an amazing user experience.

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This is not to say that Nexus devices are the only option for everyone. There are many exceptions: the desire to have the best component that helps you stand out from the crowd, the need for some special component like an integrated stylus, or a budget constraint that forces you to look at devices in the cheaper segment. There are absolutely adequate reasons to prefer one model over the other, and the level of variety of devices has become one of the hallmarks Android.

But we have reached the point where such specific requirements have become the exception rather than the rule. Most people want a good mobile experience, both out of the box and afterwards. So when I am asked which Android smartphone can provide the best user experience from all angles, the first thing I point to is the Nexus. The thing is that today the idea of ​​a phone has gone far beyond its components. And if you look at Android from this position, it becomes clear that Nexus products exist in a completely separate space.

Original material by JR Raphael.

Behind the already known postulates about the true strategy of Google in terms of Nexus and the praises of devices, one may not notice a rather important, in my opinion, thought: more and more users are beginning to pay attention not to the external features of a smartphone, but to usability, the sensations of speed and accuracy of work . And this is not a bad thing, consumers are starting to vote a little differently using the contents of their wallets.

As for Nexus devices, they continue to gain in popularity, this was helped by quite good 6P. This is not to say that these devices are one hundred percent uncompromising, not everyone is to be purists. However, the Nexus has a lot of pluses, over time, many of them become more and more relevant. Hopefully the upcoming devices from Google continue to be a good trend and continue to offer excellent value for money. Universal smartphone – utopia or reality?

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