Google Nexus Had to Die So Pixel Could Live (Premium)

A new interview with the person who runs Google's hardware efforts casts some light on why the Nexus lineup had to die.

As you may know, Google for years sold third-party devices under the Nexus brand. The idea was to provide consumers with a clean Google experience that was untainted by hardware maker customizations and included access to the latest Android features.

The Nexus products were a bit like the classic Star Trek movies: Some of them---both Nexus 7 tablets, the Nexus 5, and the Nexus 5X and 6P---were excellent, but some---most notably the Nexus 6---were duds. Worse, Google played around with pricing a bit too much. Some Nexus devices, most notably the Nexus 5X and 6P, were great values, as they offered flagship specifications for hundreds less than the competition. But some were just stupid expensive for what you go. Like, again, the Nexus 6.

In any event, Google in 2016 announced that it would, "for the first time," sell its own phones under the Pixel brand. This was a lie, and that is true on a number of levels. But the tech media, being the dupes that they are, ate it up as always. We've been treated to "Google is finally serious about taking on the iPhone" stories for years.

The notion that Google was doing something different here has always bothered me. First, Google has, in fact, sold its own phones before: Google owned Motorola from 2012 through 2014.

Worse, Pixel isn't all that different from Nexus. Google doesn't "make" Pixel phones. Like Nexus, it relies on third-party hardware partners like HTC, LG, and (depending on the year) others to do so. Google does design the devices, as it did with Nexus. The big difference is that Google has more say over what goes into the devices. That said, we still see the companies that are responsible for each Pixel have released their own versions of those phones too. So it seems like a subtle distinction to me. More marketing than reality.

But a Wired interview with Rick Osterloh, who runs Google's hardware division, sheds some light on why Pixel needed to happen. And, more important, why Nexus needed to die.

According to Osterloh, the partners that created the Nexus devices for Google were secretly working to undermine them, too.

"Last year, [HTC] helped us build Pixel," Osterloh says. "And then a few months later, they shipped the U11, and that phone had the best smartphone camera in the industry."

In other words, Google's partners would let Google ship a Nexus device with whatever specifications. And then shortly after, those companies would ship their own version of the same device, but with better features. Google was being betrayed by its own partners.

Osterloh had come to Google originally with Motorola, and he was preparing to leave the company when a conversation with CEO Sundar Pichai made him realize that, yes, Google really was getting serious about competing with the iPhone (again). The firm was looking to start a hardware group so it could ...

Gain unlimited access to Premium articles.

With technology shaping our everyday lives, how could we not dig deeper?

Thurrott Premium delivers an honest and thorough perspective about the technologies we use and rely on everyday. Discover deeper content as a Premium member.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC