Gadgetory

so here we are in 2015 we are now on the 12th Nexus device and this isn't even counting other Google push products such as the Motorola Xoom and the g1 we have seen Android grow exponentially since its debut this open-source operating system has seen adoption at an unbelievable rate where we are today is a very exciting place and this journey it all started with the t-mobile g1 the g1 was Google's first foray into the smartphone game and I had big competition from the outset the g1 wasn't set out to be an iPhone killer if anything it tried to differentiate itself to an alternate user base a crowd that inevitably found itself being slightly more technical it was a modest paradise the Android OS represented something different something new and most importantly open perceptibly the screen didn't compare to the iPhone of the time but Hardware decisions such as the SD card slot and slide-out keyboard gave people a choice the interface was quite basic but boy did it have some unique features we had a home screen with widgets aesthetically speaking it was one of the defining features of early Android stories they were interactive little tidbits which presented glanceable information without opening the app the g1 debuted with the OS codenamed cupcake Google's playful nature of naming its OS versions after well-known desserts donar eventually made its way to the g1 and if your internet in addition the Android Market was another compelling feature which allowed any developer to publish their app this openness was in stark contrast to Apple who took a very different stance on the whole the OS seemed less restrictive and more experimental for those who wanted something more than just a phone it had a single core CPU which by today's standards is punitive but for its time it was powerful and even using it now doesn't feel as bad as it probably should the salawa keyboard worked well and gave a tactile feedback and that thunk of which the keyboard slid out was an incredibly pleasing piece of workmanship this wasn't just a phone it was a start of something quite special and whether this was just an experiment it paved the way for Google's ambition with an in 2010 January 5th the Nexus 1 came which brought along it the ethos of what we see today it was the showcase platform a reference device of sorts for developers and OMS to take note and orbit their designs around Google wanted to show what could and should be possible it was based on the original incarnation of the HTC Desire and featured an 800 by 480 resolution screen with what felt like normal then a trackball it featured four capacitive buttons on the front and it also featured a micro SD card slot for storage expansion the Nexus One debuted with Bluetooth 2.1 and the ability to perform voice guided turn-by-turn navigation we saw Android 2.1 Eclair which features software enhancements to the contact email messaging and camera systems we soon saw an update to Android 2.2 codename Froyo there was Adobe Flash support Wi-Fi tethering and also the ability to install apps to the SD card this feature alone was a long-awaited and much needed it was all positives though the phone was based on the HTC Desire which arguably had a more developed front-end with its Sense UI not only that it chose to go down traditional carrier routes which the Nexus 1 did not it could be said that this is where the Nexus 1 probably fell short we can see that it slowly gained momentum but people were quick to write it off as a failure however the Nexus 1 surely did make an impact on the market in one way or another and this was only just the beginning soon after based on the Samsung Galaxy S came the Nexus S Google decided to switch from HTC to spread the love as it were among the many OEMs that were fighting the Android fight it was pretty and unassuming and despite being plastic throughout it felt good in the hand the phone launched on the 16th of December 2010 in the US and a few days later in the UK however only in March the following year did we see the phone on a carrier we saw Android 2.3 codenamed Gingerbread and NFC was a spotlight feature on the Nexus S 2.3 also brought along with it a more streamlined interface and new keyboard along with a host of back-end features the phone however did not come without its drawbacks the camera like 720p recording which at the time was found on comparable devices it wasn't just that though the phone lacked expandable storage it's a fairly common omission nowadays even though it's coming back as a premium but back then most devices did and it was shortly one of the best things about Android handsets given this the fact that the phone was priced at five hundred and twenty nine dollars off line it seemed a bit high fans and critics were keen to point out that the device really didn't offer much over the Nexus One regardless it brought along a bigger four inch Super AMOLED display back the same 800 by 480 resolution along with small hardware upgrades the important thing here was that I addressed the internal storage it offered more for applications and got partitions right Android was becoming stronger and stronger and some may say this is where things really started Samsung found themselves in a strong position offering something similar but different from the iPhone some loved it some didn't understand it and Google inevitably found themselves along for the ride in the lawsuits that defined the tech landscape of that decade that didn't stop Google from sticking with Samsung for a second go though this advocated the popularity that sampling was slowly starting to gain with that we saw the Apple named gallery Nexxus the phone was announced with a slight delay in respect to the passing of Steve Jobs it launched in November 2011 technically we were starting to enter a really exciting place the race we were experiencing during this time was like no other every bump in clock speed every increasing pixel count had an extreme significance on the functionality of a mobile phone we found ourselves with the unique hardware design the previous two Nexus devices were variants of existing ones the Galaxy Nexus featured a dragon tail front which saw a slight curvature to it this gave it a unique look and a sense of class the display was a huge four point six five inches with a 720p Super AMOLED display screens were to slowly get bigger and bigger it launched alongside the highly anticipated Android 4.0 which was also known as Ice Cream Sandwich for the first time we saw no capacitive buttons as usual the Nexus was the first device to push this reference to complete the design it featured a pleasing ambient notification LED which was something missing on its predecessor Samsung we're doing considerably well with the Galaxy s2 and the Google's push with ICS the Galaxy Nexus proved to be an exciting device let's not forget Android 4.0 was a big change it aims a unified design with a tablet only honeycomb in a form that would be functional on the smaller screen the UI was modernised under the name holo it was cleaner and revolved around a new typeface named Roboto ICS brought along Android Beam lock screen widgets the questionable but novel face unlock and the ability to limit mobile data subjectively ICS was awesome it was a Tron s looking device which appealed to the so-called geeks the Galaxy Nexus ran the OS well and proved to be a good reference device to launch with the lack of expandable storage continued which was slowly becoming the industry standard it seems as though Google or finally joining the rest Google still kept selling the device through the Play Store but soon they partnered with the US carriers such as Sprint and Verizon in Europe they launched on o2 and Vodafone but lacked Google Wallet you may also remember the Galaxy Nexus suffered a brief sales ban which was due to the ongoing battle between Samsung and Apple regardless of whether the device was a high sell or not there was no doubt that the new software features made the Galaxy Nexus compelling device for those looking for an interesting bloke free device showcasing a great and flexible OS there was some slight negative such as the battery life and the poor camera but the positives always seem to outweigh the negatives the next device was a new chapter for google and it represented a new time in the mobile space Google partnered with a new OEM and this change was needed to widen the reach of Android the speculation was high really high and with the delayed announcement due to Hurricane sandy it made things fever-pitch the Nexus 4 was unveiled on October 29 2012 and it was coming from LG at the time it was quite surprising but LG was only up it brought serious style at a price point which sat comfortable with a lot of wallets we had 299 for the 8 gigabyte version and 349 for the 16 this was much lower than comparable devices which are costing around 600 things only got more exciting when we saw that I offered a Snapdragon s4 pro quad-core processor this clocked in at 1.5 gigahertz and I had 2 gigs of ram which all round on a lovely 720p IPS display this seemingly quiet but beautiful device propelled the nexus program into the mainstream the front sported a glass panel which was slightly curved on the edges the back feature - annoyance effect it looked stunning and showcased a different design language but more importantly it proved that great design wasn't limited to higher priced phones as classy and premium as a glass construction made the device feel it also vocalized some niggles both glass panels were covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 2 but that didn't stop people from finding their devices were starting to see scratches and cracks once again we saw an underwhelming shooter we had an 8 megapixel camera but it was lacking any form of quality from the sensor in addition we were slowly starting to see Google take more control of the devices the four followed other devices in the market and offered no removable battery this was obviously a cause for concern for diehard Android fans that have been used to a certain form of usage this argument was countered with the relatively low price and echoes saying you can't have it all after the initial launch the device sold out quick Google can restock quick enough and fell into manufacturing issues and so the Nexus 4 stayed sold out for a long long time the success here could have been potentially very different had this not been the case Android 4.2 debuted with the Nexus 4 we saw quick settings on a notification system we had gesture typing and the ability to take photo spheres within a year the price dropped by a hundred dollars it was astonishing to realize what you could get with the amount you were paying for we hadn't really seen anything like this before and coming from a brand name it gave confidence overall the Nexus 4 was a sign of the ecosystem that Google was trying to build and also an indication of what was to come for both hardware and software LG stayed for another round and this time expectations were high we were now at a point where the Nexus Brown was the be-all and end-all for Android enthusiasts the Nexus 5 was available from the Google Play Store for 299 dollars for the 16 and 349 for the 32 which was surely increased by 50 dollars it was slightly thinner slightly lighter and had a slightly larger screen this was a refinement that felt natural as if Google wants to make the same formula more efficient and lean with the second go we had a polycarbonate shell which was vastly different from the n4 the phone was beautiful but in a way that was understated subtle and probably more sophisticated than the n4 the device was based on an lg g2 but in actual fact it wasn't all that similar it had a smaller display a smaller battery but more importantly it didn't keep the panel self refresh regardless at this point being a Nexus device it had a unique selling points that other phones who really could not match Google have once again delivered a high caliber phone at a lower price there was no real competition the phone shipped with a Snapdragon 800 SOC it was also the first Nexus device to officially have 4G which curiously was not found on a nexus 4 unless you enter the secret menu as with previous Nexus devices the five was the showcase phone for Android 4.4 which went by KitKat if we had faults to find in the devices throughout the years there was no doubt that the software was only going from strength to strength Google had tightened up the very nature of the ecosystem and introduced new api's this made Android much more memory efficient now only needing 512 megabytes of RAM to run this was essential to Google's aim of getting Android instant developing countries KitKat also introduced a host of new features we saw screen recording system wide support for closed captioning audio tunneling composite sensor support and much much more the m5 was also the first to sport the Google now launcher this was the first major sign of Google focusing their attention on user experience as launchers on previous devices were bare-bones to say the least we also had Google now an excellent card based system which provided ultra rich notifications the Nexus 5 exhibited similar issues to a number of previous Nexus devices and that was a relatively poor camera it was better than its predecessor as you'd expect but poor in comparison to a number of different devices out there again we looked past its false due to the relatively low price point this arguments to be made regarding the exact purpose of the Nexus line of devices like with any embryonic form that was always going to be changes some good some bad and some just questionable like the marketing and distribution either way what started out as a handy reference device of developers soon began to attract widespread appeal and why not it was at a lower price point for featured and uncluttered interface and timely updates tablets have been a completely different game for Google before anything even started they were playing catch-up with the iPad and its dominance we never really thought anything of the iPad initially but it proved that there was a market for an alternative to a laptop which wasn't necessarily for productivity but definitely for consumption smartphones were ill-equipped so Google decided to showcase its tablet optimized version of Android with the release of the Motorola Xoom announced at CES 2011 it featured Android 3.0 titled honeycomb it was a vastly different experience to anything that we were used to it featured a new design language which we would see as the inspiration for future versions of Android we saw support for multi-core processors copy and paste a new connectivity options such as Bluetooth keyboards honeycomb wasn't just a tablet OS it was an indication of where things were going people were keen to point out that Android did not contain many tablet optimized apps they were coming and here we had an insightful and daring a look into what Google had planned for their tablets we saw an influx of tablets from all sorts of companies and OMS as finally had a capable OS to run on a larger screen Advent Samsung ZTE Toshiba and Amazon were all in the mix the next year saw Google announced the Nexus 7 a curiously small 7-inch tablet it was made in conjunction with the Zeus and it was the first habit to carry the Nexus branding it featured an unusual form factor and came very very friendly to the wallets of potential buyers at $199 it was the cheapest way of entering the Nexus family and for that you got an NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor paired with 1 gigabyte of RAM all running on a twelve eighty by seven hundred eighty degrees design and production process Google Anna's just managed to release a tablet which propelled the Nexus brand to widespread knowledge it put the seven inch form factor into the spotlight we had a tablet that was relatively portable but encompassed a lot of technology for its relative size and weight the designs were plastic chassis which was supported by a corning scratch resistant thick glass had a dimpled plastic surface with a rubbery leathery texture on the back with this Google debuted Android 4.1 codenamed jellybean the aim here was a user experience and in that the GUI elements were now slightly more relaxed the pull down notification area was improved and now adjusted to various screen sizes we saw multiple improvements under the hood and the ever-present lag was the main priority this resolution took form as project butter in addition Google push forth their ecosystem they put their store front and center of the device offering a free film ebook several magazines and a $25 credit spending Google Play home was also now the default browser making the overall system tighter some love this some not so much the argument here was that Google slowly take you more control to an OS that was natively meant to be open it could be argued that the Nexus 7 was the first device to have mass consumer appeal it had finally brought a device which did not just appeal to Android associates but something which had the hardware had the price but more importantly had the ecosystem to finally start matching its competitors later that year looking to build on the Nexus 7 and not to disappoint users of larger tablets Google announced and released the Nexus 10 built in conjunction with Samsung it featured an out Stan in 2560 by 1600 resolution screen all running on a 10.1 inch pls backlit LCD it featured a samsung exynos 5250 with a mali t6o 4 GPU it featured Android 4.2 and gone was the honeycomb navbar menu we were now back to three standard icons in the center of the screen this perhaps wasn't the most sensible decision considering it wasn't in reach of either hand during operation the Nexus 10 featured the usual connections but an interesting addition was the micro HDMI great for media enthusiasts but hampered due to the lack of expandable storage regardless it offered a way to mirror the display at a time where chromecast and similar devices went around its habit also featured great front-facing speakers critically the Nexus 10 received mixed but generally positive reviews it was praised for the sheer resolution of the screen there were questions regarding whether the device had the longevity to run the display but with a 9000 milliamp battery 9 hours of video playback and 7 of web browsing will claim all of this equal to the Nexus 10 retailing at 399 dollars for the 16 and $4.99 for the 32 this was probably not what we were expecting considering the recent history of lower prices but it was still cheaper than the then-current iPad despite this the Nexus 10 was sold out within hours of its release on the Play Store and what feels like repetition now we ran into stock problems you expect Google to be efficient considering the scale of their reach given the newfound popularity of the seven-inch form factor it was only a matter of time before Google releases successor to the Nexus 7 Google would have missed an opportunity had they not followed up but they did and we saw the release on July 26th in the US and 20th of August in the UK with the Nexus 7 2013 the partnership remained and the ethos stayed we had a better screen with an increased color gamut and contrast ratio the resolution was now up to 1920 by 1200 from the original 1280 by 800 we saw a new SOC and a Snapdragon s4 pro and doubled the RAM of the original do to better component choice and further software optimizations we saw much better battery life despite the Nexus 7 2013 containing a smaller battery we now had a design which reflected Google's confidence there was no conflicting elements in the entire device was black and featured a soft touch plastic backing the whole package was a slimmer and more sophisticated attempt it was a clear representation of what we would see with the Nexus 5 6 and 9 still codenamed jelly bean we saw average 4.3 we had restricted profiles for tablets Bluetooth Low Energy and on the software side we had faster user switching lower latency for controls and the ability to wirelessly display content this improvement resulted in a slightly higher price we saw the Nexus 7 2013 debut at 229 dollars for the 16 and 269 for the 32 this increase in price was justified by a much better product overall and that brings us to the now and with what Google must see as a future of the nexus initiative we have the Nexus 6 and 9 the context is intriguing confusing and exciting all at the same time for the first time we see a difference in the very nature of what we believe the Nexus branding represents if we consider the price has gone against everything we have witnessed throughout the history of the Nexus program the devices have generally focused on great specs but at a lower price and with the Nexus 9 and 6 we have definitely entered the premium territory in this space there are no excuses for underperforming hardware or non functioning software this is where we start to question the depth of the software and Google's overall intention om such as Samsung HTC and Sony offer their skins on top of Android but there are features that could possibly be justified more so than the Nexus devices features such as IP certification for water and dust proofing camera and camera apps with the option for manual control expandable storage and so much more vanilla Android does not offer this inherently so when you're paying the premium what counts as a justification when other devices offer long the heir of premium firstly comes in the feeling and here they do absolutely find the Nexus 6 aligned both incorporate materials which command this feeling instantly the six sees itself with a subtle metal frame with a big bold screen the back however is a different story and probably the biggest issue with the design we have a slippery plastic which is a very confusing design choice the premium feeling oddly enough also comes in its heft the six feels heavy but as its big this weight gives it solidity the nine follows suit it's a big device and keep the design language and materials of the five these are fine looking and feeling devices but more importantly they now come with top-tier specs throughout the six comes with a beautiful 2560 by 1440 AMOLED display the color isn't the most accurate displaying a slight green tint but it doesn't draw anything away from the sheer number of pixels on the screen we all question the significance of having anything higher than a 1080p display and in 720 at one point but the difference is noticeable in addition a nexus 6 has amazing onboard speakers subjectively it's one of the best around we are seeing more devices coming out with front-facing speakers and it's confusing to think why it took so long for OMS to include this the Nexus 9 follow suit and comes in with an equally good 2048 by 1536 IPS display it too has great onboard speakers which only should be expected considering the price but with the 9 in particular we have to question whether overall it makes the best use of the components it has Android on tablets has always been a contentious point regarding tablet optimized apps and the UI on a larger screen subjectively there was something magical with their previous tablet efforts the UI made great use of the space however since the release of the Nexus 7 we have seen the tablet and phone UI merge it worked well on the 7 but probably not so much on the 9 more and more applications are making great use of the space available but it's a shame the OS doesn't not as much as it used to anyways the 9 comes with the state-of-the-art Tiger k1 processor which is famed for its GPU power with all the talk of this chips that we see nothing on an X 9 that arguably makes use of the power we have to even question whether this is even needed in comparison the Tegra shield tablet contains the same chipset but here it's arguably justified we have game streaming console mode 4k output and lots more this is complemented on the hardware side with a micro HDMI slot expandable storage and baked-in stylus support this makes compelling justification of this chipset and all our price point lower than a nexus 9 so it's somewhat underwhelming we must hope that google has some great ideas in mind with the hardware they have given the Nexus 9 Android 5.0 is the shining star in all of this though the rate of evolution has been unbelievable and what we have today is a great oh s there's a new design language deemed a material design and for once every interaction and animation makes great sense and seems to have a purpose it's more colorful more fluent in its approach and overall will appeal to a wider audience underneath we have the all-new art one time which is faster and more fishin Nexus devices have always been reference devices which have been heavily developer driven the devices provided a form of Android without any customizations or additions which were paired with timely updates to new software versions where we are heading with the software is somewhat nebulous as everything is becoming more streamlined and the gap between stock and AOSP is only growing OMS are now starting to offer compelling reasons of sticking with their ecosystem they're also offering features and functions that some users may genuinely want in comparison paying a premium for devices that offers stock experience may not be as enthralling as it once was so there is no doubt that we are in a good place right now the Android silver program has also seemingly disappeared so the future is just as confusing as it is exciting there is no doubt though where we are and with the technology available these are the greatest devices to come out of the nexus program if it wasn't for this the software really wouldn't be what it is today developers have created and enthusiasts have modded and hack their way through the fruition of Android we have seen roms kernels and hans mints tweak scripts themes and much more that really can't be described the nexus program has only been the catalyst for this this has been a sh for android authority thank you so much for listening and stay tuned because we will always be your source for all things Android you