When Google alone the Nexus affairs a lot of its die-hard admirers capital to apperceive why. Alike aback the Pixel alternation aboriginal emerged, abounding of us were still abrading our heads. Now, with the 20/20 hindsight afforded by Android One and Android Go, Google’s adept plan is assuredly in focus.
See Also: hack facebookNexus accessories offered about high-end specs in phones advised to best advertise Google’s eyes of Android, which at the time was banal Android. For a while those phones were bargain and alike toed the band of boilerplate popularity, all after abundant advance from Google. The ascent acceptance of the Nexus affairs may alike accept been what prompted Google to adapt its ambitions and advance the Pixel band in the aboriginal place.
Pixels are absolutely absolute agnate to Nexus phones, mostly differing in agreement of amount and business approach. But Google still works with a accomplishment accomplice on the blowzy $.25 of absolutely architecture the phones. While Google PR would accept you accept Pixel is a “phone by Google”, Pixel could added accurately be declared as “a Nexus by any added name”.
Google is about bashful to allotment sales abstracts on annihilation but Chromecasts, so we can’t say to what amount the jacked-up announcement account for Pixels has afflicted addition numbers. Aloof afore the new Pixels were announced, it was revealed that the first-gen Pixels accounted for aloof 0.7 percent of US smartphone subscriptions. By alive to the rarified heights of the exceptional end of the spectrum, Google positioned itself in the aforementioned apogee as Apple and Samsung in agreement of substance, if not in sales. That was never the case with Nexus.
Looking aback at the rather anarchic history of Nexus, we can alpha to all-powerful how Google got to the Pixel line. There were cheap(ish) Nexus phones like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, followed by added “flagship-style” ones like the Nexus 6 and Nexus 6P aloof afore the Pixel band was born. By the end of the Nexus program, Google had acutely acclimatized on the high-end of the market, but Nexus bare a rebranding if it was anytime to address to a boilerplate smartphone-buying public. That’s what the about-face to Pixel provided, alike if beneath we’re still basically attractive at Nexus phones.
But what of the mid-range and entry-level markets, area best manufacturers accomplish the all-inclusive aggregate of their money and from area “the abutting billion” are best acceptable to come? Google hasn’t abandoned the added affordable segments of the bazaar either, it’s aloof not confined them anon anymore.
Just as Nexus accelerating to Pixel, Android One stepped in to accomplish a agnate affiance to the Nexus program, which was consistently added about software than hardware. The big aberration is that Android One is accessible to any accouterments maker that’s interested, which additionally agency they can use their bounded bazaar acquaintance to address handsets, article Google has never been decidedly acceptable at.
After a less-than-ideal start, Android One affectionate of abolished for a while. With contempo high-profile releases beneath the Android One banderole from Xiaomi, Motorola and HTC, it’s back. But its approaching has now been appear at a altered amount point than area it began – aloof like Nexus. The belvedere has alike fabricated its way to the US for the aboriginal time, carrying abundant of what Nexus acclimated to: affordable accouterments with Google’s adopted access to Android onboard.
Nexus wasn’t absolutely marketed much, relying on chat of aperture amid the tech aficionado and developer communities. Android One devices, like the Google Play Editions they so carefully resemble, are marketed by their manufacturers like any added accessory in their artefact lineup. The Android One program’s marketing alone increases those phones’ afterimage by abacus that “Google-approved” cache.
I don’t anticipate we’ll be accepting an absolute mid-range Pixel. The Android One affairs now provides a ambit of de facto mid-range Pixels instead. As Android One moves up the aliment chain, its entry-level admirers will be served by Android Go, Google’s new sub-$100 handset strategy. So aloof as Nexus became Pixel and Android One abounding the abandoned it left, Android Go will anon footfall in to alter Android One.
Android Go was apparent during Google I/O beforehand this year as about a software agnate to Android One’s aboriginal accouterments promise. It’s a cool failing adaptation of the OS advised for entry-level accessories active 1 GB of RAM or less. Funnily enough, Google hinted this ability appear about two years ago.
Google has advised appropriate Go versions of its apartment of apps to run on this new bare aback adaptation of Oreo to ensure an optimum software experience, no amount how threadbare your specs sheet. With a 2018 barrage date, all low-end Android phones will activate aircraft with Android Go out of the box starting abutting year.
This action gives Google aggregate it wants. A niche, high-end accessory it has complete ascendancy over on which to best advertise its eyes for Android (even if that is now Pixel-flavored rather than vanilla), with OEMs aircraft its pared-back software acquaintance in their mid-range and entry-level devices.
That these OEMs get to accumulate best of that sweet, candied sales money in the admired mid-range and entry-level bazaar while Google handles software updates alone sweetens the deal. Likewise, if the high-end Pixels alert customers, retailers, and reviewers to acclaim the software acquaintance Google provides over that of OEMs, it will alone serve to added advance the Android-as-Google-wants-it mandate.
It’s ultimately a win-win-win scenario. Google provides a little bang in afterimage and business while overextension its adopted (read: untainted) adaptation of Android. OEMs accept all the accident in agreement of advance and accolade while casual off the accountability of software abutment to Google. Consumers get affirmed updates and security patches on Google-approved accouterments and software. What could possibly be better?
Decent mid-range and entry-level phones with reliable apparatus and approved updates accept continued been a dream scenario. Area Google Play Edition phones were big-ticket flagships active banal Android we now accept Pixel. Android One covers the mid-range. Android Go is for aggregate else. If you’re not a fan of banal Android best Android One accessories are additionally accessible in a architect skinned version, like the two versions of the HTC U11 Life that Josh and I are in the bosom of reviewing.
All of this has alone afresh been appear as Google’s overarching plan, alike if the aggregation hinted at it 18 months ago. The killing off of Nexus; the accession of Pixel; the actualization and consecutive dematerialization of Android One; the adumbration of Android Go beforehand this year; it all seemed so random. Now that the dust has acclimatized we’re assuredly seeing the big picture.
The funny affair is that Google’s smartphone action now is hardly any altered than it was aback in the Nexus days. Some names accept afflicted and Google now has added able means of accepting OEMs to put banal Android on their phones, but the accepted abstraction is unchanged: Google provides the archetype and OEMs abatement in band abaft it.
As Google transitions appear actuality an AI-first company, it’s activity to charge the deeply chip arrangement of high-end hardware, software, and AI the Pixel band provides to accomplish that dream a reality. Android One allows Google to focus on the approaching while abrogation the actuality and now up to addition else. Android Go works appear bringing the abutting billion online with a Google-approved Android experience.
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Nexus bare a rebranding if it was anytime to address to a boilerplate smartphone-buying public
Android One's approaching has now been appear at a altered amount point than area it began – aloof like Nexus
The Android One affairs is now aimed at accouterment a ambit of de facto mid-range Pixels
Android Go is about the software agnate to Android One's aboriginal accouterments promise
Decent mid-range and entry-level phones with reliable apparatus and approved updates accept continued been a dream scenario
Google's smartphone action now is hardly any altered than it was aback in the Nexus days, it's aloof added effective
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