While Android is comprised of many manufacturers creating many devices, Google’s core hardware has always had a slightly different mission. That mission has evolved with the rest of the mobile ecosystem over the years, but the launch of Android 5.0 shows a complete 180-degree turn on some of the things we’ve come to expect from Android and the Nexus devices.
The Nexus program exists to set a standard for the next year of hardware releases by showing Google’s partners what is possible, while also serving as the flagship for the next iteration of Android software. The role of Google’s Nexus program is often confused with a developer-focused offering, due largely to the guarantee that Nexus devices will serve as a great neutral test environment for software. There was a time when Google offered developer devices, but those were the early days of Android, well before the launch of the Nexus One. Devices like the original Motorola Droid and the HTC Nexus One were released as consumer devices with a significantly lower barrier to entry for developer services and tools.
Today every Android phone and tablet has access to those tools, though they are somewhat hidden from the average user.
As Google moved beyond the Nexus One it became clear that carrier partnerships were necessary to increase adoption, especially if Google was to have their own version of Android out there for users to enjoy. As the company learned with the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, however, those partnerships came with unintended consequences. The promise of immediate software updates, one of the big features of the Nexus devices, was compromised by lengthy internal approval policies at Verizon and Sprint.
This led to the launch of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 with very few carrier attachments, and to help create a world where users could get reliable hardware with those immediate software updates, these two phones were sold as cheap as they possible could be when sold through the Google Play Store. As long as you are an AT&T, T-Mobile, or are an international GSM customer, the low cost and constantly up to date software provided a compelling reason to just pay for the phone outright and consider a world without carrier contracts.
To say that the Nexus 6 is a departure from this carrier-free lifestyle is something of an understatement. Google is launching the phone subsidized through nearly every US carrier, and the unlocked version of the phone is going to run you $650 instead of the $350 we saw with the Nexus 5. Google justifies the price hike be demonstrating just how much nicer the Nexus 6 is, but in a recent interview with Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo, Android Engineering VP Dave Burke explained that they think most folks will be subsidizing the phone through their carrier. It’s a complete reversal from the suggestions that have been made with the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, but it’s possible Google is making this decision because they think the software problems of yesteryear have largely been resolved.
The version of Android that shipped with the Nexus 4 is wildly different from what we’re seeing in Android 5.0, and those differences are going to make a lot of the previous concerns about software updates go away. First of all, Google has worked hard to decouple most of their apps from the actual system image, meaning when there needs to be an update for these apps the update just comes from the Google Play Store like any other app. Furthermore, Google’s increasing reliance on Google Play Services for new features makes it so even phones that aren’t on the most recent version of Android have access to the same feature set. Play Services has proven to be incredibly powerful already, and in Android 5.0 there’s an even greater dependance on this software bundle. Even if the carriers get in the way of system updates, there’s a good chance users won’t even notice thanks to the Play Store and Play Services.
The software update delays of the past are hopefully going to be dramatically lessened for non-Nexus devices as well with Android 5.0. In the past, Google has tried to use the Platform Developer Kit to give the hardware manufacturers everything they need when the next version of Android launches. Unfortunately, there are occasionally huge changes that need to happen on the manufacturer side in order to update to the next version of Android, so even with Google’s help there have been months and months in between major updates on flagship devices from third party partners.
To help address that this year, Google has stepped back from the PDK and worked with these manufacturers through the Android L Preview that started back at Google I/O this year. While developers have been messing with the Material Design updates to prepare their own apps, the manufacturers have had access to the preview code to make sure frameworks like HTC’s Sense and Samsung’s TouchWiz are able to ensure compatibility and update faster.
These new things Google is trying out all seem like great moves for consumers, and with any luck the response is positive all around. Faster updates, more mainstream people using and appreciating the Nexus brand, and an all around improved user experience. It’s going to be a few months before we start to see the result of this shift in Nexus nature, but it seems like there’s very little that could go wrong here.