Another day, and another rumor that has a lot to do with Google. The search engine giant will end the Nexus line of devices in favor of more devices based on the Google Play Edition initiative, according to Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin.
Murtazin's sources claim that Google will release 2 or 3 new Nexus devices later this year, before putting the line to rest in 2015 to focus more on new Google Play Edition handsets. Furthermore, Murtazin says Google will rebrand the Play Edition as the replacement for the Nexus line.
Bear in mind that this rumor is coming from a popular Russian blogger who has not been reliable with his leaks for some time. This means the information here should not be taken too seriously.
What Murtazin has reported, however, makes some sense since a good number of top device makers have partnered with Google to release Play Editions of their popular smartphones. If device makers have the ability to release updates as soon as they are available, then the Nexus line would be considered redundant, as that is arguably the main reason for purchasing a Nexus.
Apart from delivering updates on a timely manner to users, Google's plan with the Nexus line was to provide fans with a pure Google experience. That is no longer a plus since the Play Edition devices offer the same thing. Furthermore, Google wants to get rid of the subsidy market in favor of selling full priced and unlocked devices directly to users. That plan has failed thus far.
The search giant also wanted to provide developers with a smartphone - the Nexus - that showed what Android is capable of at its best. However, this is no longer important as the Play Edition give developers the perfect Android experience.
Nonetheless, Google did take 5 years to build the Nexus brand into what it is today, so we're not sure if the software giant would be interested in completely writing off the brand.
So, if Murtazin is correct, then one should expect Google to refocus the Nexus brand elsewhere instead of getting rid of it all together.
