Why HTC Is No Longer Making This Year’s Nexus Phones Michael Kwan August 30, 2016 News Perhaps it’s only fitting. HTC was the company that made the first ever Google Nexus phone, the Nexus One, way back in 2009. And now, as we anticipate the newest generation of Google smartphones that our attention turns once again to HTC. You might remember that HTC reportedly signed a three year deal with Google to make Nexus devices, but that may not be entirely true anymore. Don’t worry. As far as we can tell, the devices codenamed Marlin and Sailfish are still moving forward with HTC and they should be released by the end of the year. They just won’t be “Nexus” phones, because Google is reportedly killing off the “Nexus” brand altogether. Is this related to the “Android Silver” story from last year? Maybe. Maybe not. In any case, according to “several people familiar with Google’s plans,” the Nexus brand is going away. Instead, the new HTC-made phones are going to leverage the “Google” brand much more heavily, possibly replacing the “Nexus” emblem on the back of the phone with a “G” logo from Google. What’s more, the appeal of a stock “vanilla” Android with “Nexus” phones could be going away too. The new “Google” phones by HTC will get “additional software and a tweaked interface,” just like how we see with every other non-Nexus device on the market. Considering that one of the few reasons you might not want the new Galaxy Note7 from Samsung is that you prefer the clean Android of Nexus, the appeal of the new HTC Google phones might not be all that attractive to that audience anymore. This means that Sailfish and Marlin could have a different-looking UI than the version of Android 7.0 Nougat that’s being pushed around on current Nexus devices. Either way, it won’t be long before we know for sure. If these new HTC-made Google phones aren’t really “Nexus” anymore, are you still as interested? Via Android Central Share This With The World!
