Google has confirmed it is “still invested in Nexus” products, despite the existence of Android Silver.
There have been rumours Google was looking to do away with its vanilla Android Nexus line in favour of working with manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and LG to build very specific Android smartphones.
However, speaking to ReadWrite, Google’s Head of Android Engineering Dave Burke confirmed that Google isn’t abandoning Nexus quite yet.
“People just get excited by concepts and forget why we do things,” said Burke. “We are still invested in Nexus”.
“People have been commenting about Nexus because there is something else and they think that means the end of Nexus. That is the totally wrong conclusion to make”.
That means when Android L arrives in the autumn, we should expect a brand new Nexus device (or two) to go along with it.
Burke explained that Google designs a new Nexus device alongside the engineers writing the open source code for the new Android iterations.
“There is no way you can build the open source code without the phone or tablet or whatever you’re building. You have to live and breathe the code you are developing”, said Burke.
“You can’t build a platform in the abstract, you have a build a device (or devices). So, I don’t’ think that can or will ever go away”.
He also added that the Nexus range is Google’s suggestion of how it thinks Android should run, as well as an example of pure Android without the bloatware UI introduced by separate manufacturers.
“I don’t see why we would ever turn away from that, it wouldn’t make sense.”
As for the Android Silver project, Burke confirmed it exists but wouldn’t yet elaborate on it.
“Android Silver is not something that we are commenting on right now.”
Looks like Android Silver won’t be a Nexus replacement after all.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
