Were OEMs to blame for Android Silver never coming to fruition?
Back in May, we saw news leak from the now retired evleaks that suggested that Google was working on a program for premium Android devices known as Android Silver. The program would offer a pure Google designed Android experience on next-gen hardware and all for a premium price. The program would have been something offered on all the majors carriers, however, about a month before the release of the Nexus 6, word spread that the unconfirmed program was scrapped and it’s possible that the major carriers were to blame.
Re/code learned that Google struggled to convince OEMs to get onboard with the program.
“The company wanted to promote a less-customizable version of the OS that would make it easier for app developers to create one version of its software for the Android devices, instead of having to make many versions for different flavors of Android,”Re/code wrote. “The program was shelved after lukewarm interest from device makers that didn’t want to share its branding with another company or employ such a restricted version of the software.”
According to other reports, Google’s licensing agreements for Android have become tougher for OEMs that push its online services but it looks like Google couldn’t push forward with Silver. Google’s VP of engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer didn’t comment on Silver in a recent interview, rather dodged the unconfirmed program by saying that the “Nexus brand of devices will continue well into the future.” While Google is tightening the reigns on some aspects of Android it looks like the search giant may loosen its grasp on certain aspects.
As was previously stated, Google is thinking about opening up Android Wear, TV, and Auto for customizations. That is, as soon as Google hammers out the basics of each of the respective platforms.
That said, it’s kind of easy writing off a program that never existed. Unlike previous Nexus devices — that skimped in a few areas to cut cost — the new Nexus 6 looks to to be what Android Silver could have been; a premium device with next-gen hardware and a pure Google experience. Android Silver never existed, maybe OEMs weren’t onboard, maybe Google scraped the program and integrated the idea into making the new Nexus. One thing’s for certain, the program that never existed, continues to not do so.
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