Google to make a non Nexus phone in 2016?

[jamezr]

Is Google going to make a non Nexus phone themselves? Along the lines of say the Pixel?

Sources speaking to theTelegraph claim that Google will release a smartphone with tighter controls over "design, manufacturing and software" before the end of the year. The details of the phone aren't available, but this wouldn't be a Nexus from the sound of it

https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/26/google-said-to-ship-tightly-controlled-phone/

 

[nj-morris]

Please! Been asking for this all year.

 

[MRU]

I wonder if this is where the mystery of the two HTC devices and yet still Huawei saying they were making this year's Nexus too comes in.

Could it be HTC or Huawei will be the partner for the actual Google branded phone ?

So yes we will see two Nexus devices (or should that be Nexi plural) and one Google branded pixel or such phone made by HTC / Huawei ?

 

[jamezr]

I wonder if this is where the mystery of the two HTC devices and yet still Huawei saying they were making this year's Nexus too comes in.

Could it be HTC or Huawei will be the partner for the actual Google branded phone ?

So yes we will see two Nexus devices (or should that be Nexi plural) and one Google branded pixel or such phone made by HTC / Huawei ?

That is what some of these rumors are pointing to recently. It will be interesting to see what Google has up their sleeves. The knock on Nexus phones is the OEM partner doesn't really make it their best phone. Saving that for their own branded devices. But if Google has control (they didn't in the past nexus phones???) with their partner this time and dictates the build and feature set.....this might be something worth considering.

 

[Savor]

Again in my previous post, cross out that HTC Nexi codenamed Sailfish and Marlin on my list. I don't trust HTC anymore. Great design but customer service is poor and hardware defects start happening months later. The same design of the Nexus One but bigger and updated specs would be cool though. Just posting photos of my Nexus One earlier today in the iPhone 4 resurrection thread made me miss that design. I would love to see other OEMs follow Apple's take on the SE and recycle older designs. Nexus One and HTC One M7 deserve a remake. Call it the Nexus Passion (nod to Nexus One's codemame) or Nexus Dream (nod to the G1). HTC had some of the best names for their phones...

In Google We Trust.

Any hardware complaints, it goes to them. No need diverting it to the OEM. And I believe Google will come up with great build quality as seen from the Chromebook Pixel and Pixel C. I really don't think Nexus devices are really needed now if Google can build their own phones. Most Nexus devices don't sell well. Aren't available to every country. Less than two years of updates. No price advantage. Curious how Google will succeed with hardware thanks to an ex-chief from Motorola. Their homegrown tangible products like Chromebook Pixel and Pixel C weren't blockbusters either but at least a Google-made smartphone is on their own terms now.

 

[Surf Donkey]

I am not buying any of this......

 

[epicrayban]

At this rate, it's going to be a fleet of Nexus phones later this year to choose from!

I'm skeptical until we learn more. Interesting nonetheless.

 

[tbayrgs]

Please make a Pixel phone Google...pretty please.

Samsung level of hardware with stock Android that is first in line for updates and I'll gladly pay Galaxy/iPhone level prices for it.

 

[jamezr]

A pixel build like Google phone would very nice!
More info from ARS..

Google formally established a hardware division in April, which is headed up by Rick Osterloh, a former president of Motorola. The division was formed in an effort to streamline the production of all the hardware currently in development. And while an own-brand smartphone would always have been on the cards at the division, few expected to see such an aggressive timeline for such a project

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/06/google-android-own-phone-design-report/

 

[Surf Donkey]

Please make a Pixel phone Google...pretty please.

Samsung level of hardware with stock Android that is first in line for updates and I'll gladly pay Galaxy/iPhone level prices for it.

If Google did that, Samsung better have Tizen ready.

 

[tbayrgs]

If Google did that, Samsung better have Tizen ready.

I disagree...at least initially. Samsung has millions of fans of their hardware and the overwelming majority are oblivious to the stock vs. skinned Android issues we discuss here, aren't actively on top of new releases of Android and don't know/care about timely updates. For them, TouchWiz IS Android and they're very happy with it. Samsung also has the manufacturing infrastructure and expertise, an extensive distribution network and well established relationships with retailers and carriers...something Google has yet to prove they can even get a grasp understanding.

As good as Google is with their software and services, their ability to sell/market their hardware has been lackluster, to put it politely. They'd have a lot of work to do before Samsung would ever feel threatened by Google's hardware.

 

[Surf Donkey]

I disagree...at least initially. Samsung has millions of fans of their hardware and the overwelming majority are oblivious to the stock vs. skinned Android issues we discuss here, aren't actively on top of new releases of Android and don't know/care about timely updates. For them, TouchWiz IS Android and they're very happy with it. Samsung also has the manufacturing infrastructure and expertise, an extensive distribution network and well established relationships with retailers and carriers...something Google has yet to prove they can even get a grasp understanding.

As good as Google is with their software and services, their ability to sell/market their hardware has been lackluster, to put it politely. They'd have a lot of work to do before Samsung would ever feel threatened by Google's hardware.

I disagree. Samsung started ramping up Tizen seriously when Google bought Motorola. If Google made a top of the line flagship, that would be the line drawn in the sand. No way Samsung would consume AOSP anymore.
[doublepost=1467038606][/doublepost]Plus all these articles are based on something from the Telegraph?? Not exactly a credible technology source. They are probably just confusing a quote around the Project Ara release.

 

[spinedoc77]

I don't know that I have much faith in a Google phone. Seems like the Nexus line always have compromises, I don't know why Google can't push them harder to make something with no compromises. The most glaring example to me is the Note 5 versus the 6p. Screen to bezel/size ratio, lack of OIS, etc make a huge difference. Of course price is different, but Google needs some major attention and to get that they need a major flagship.

 

[Surf Donkey]

But honestly, the Nexus line has compromises for a reason.....they are going to stay a lower end phone and not clash the OEMs (mostly Samsung). They have a deal, they won't compete with them. The bowed out of Motorola. Remember when everyone was pumped Google is working with them to trim down Touchwiz? I highly doubt that is all just over now. And again, if it is, Samsung is done with Android. Not because of customer expectations, but Google would be directly targeting them.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014...le-samsung-and-the-sale-of-motorola-mobility/

The entirety of the deal is still secret, but we think the basic gist of the deal is that Google stops making hardware and competing with Samsung, and Samsung backs away from software and stops trying to usurp Google's control over Android. The deal makes sense for both companies—Samsung wants to sell hardware, Google wants to make software, show ads, and get data. With Motorola gone and each company having a well-defined role to play, there's no reason for the two to be at each other's throats all the time. The new model is basically Wintel—Samsung plays the part of Intel and makes the hardware, and Google is the new Microsoft, focusing on software.

 

[spinedoc77]

But honestly, the Nexus line has compromises for a reason.....they are going to stay a lower end phone and not clash the OEMs (mostly Samsung). They have a deal, they won't compete with them. The bowed out of Motorola. Remember when everyone was pumped Google is working with them to trim down Touchwiz? I highly doubt that is all just over now. And again, if it is, Samsung is done with Android. Not because of customer expectations, but Google would be directly targeting them.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014...le-samsung-and-the-sale-of-motorola-mobility/

I don't disagree, but that means why would Google bother to make their own phone? Can they make more of a flagship for a cheaper price? Maybe. This seems like what Microsoft did with the surface line, Google wants to spur their oems to make better devices. But they really don't need to seeing what's out there.

I'd be first in line for a full flagship, all stops pulled out google branded phone. But they really have to pull out all the stops and refine things like screen to bezel ratio.
[doublepost=1467043051][/doublepost]Besides, it seems very late if this phone is to be released this year, yet we have absolutely no info, no rumors, nothing on it. I think it's an extremely weak rumor at best.

 

[Surf Donkey]

I don't disagree, but that means why would Google bother to make their own phone? Can they make more of a flagship for a cheaper price? Maybe. This seems like what Microsoft did with the surface line, Google wants to spur their oems to make better devices. But they really don't need to seeing what's out there.

I'd be first in line for a full flagship, all stops pulled out google branded phone. But they really have to pull out all the stops and refine things like screen to bezel ratio.

They also better figure out how to make panels.... because if they start competing with the OEMs, they aren't getting even the last gen lower binned ones from them anymore.

 

[maflynn]

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