For basically the same reasons I stopped buying Nexus phones. According to what I've read so far, the Silver program will basically be GPE and Nexus rolled into one, and the software side is mostly managed by Google, not the OEM. That's where I have a problem, because over the last year several OEM's have surpassed Google's own take on Android OS. Let's use the most recent Xperia devices as an example:
Phone
Sony's dialer app has better features, more of them, and a better UI
SMS
No contest here. Sony's SMS app is hands down better than Hangouts for SMS.
Music
Sony's Walkman app is far better than the Play Music app.
Photos
Sony's Album app isn't anything to write home about but it's still better than the schizophrenic Google Photos that can't make it's mind up whether it's a photo app or an extension of Google+
Camera
'nuff said
UI
Not thrilled by Google's "launcher". Sony's UI lets me theme the entire phone choosing from several themes that run all the way down into the core levels of the OS, beyond just the homescreen. Every menu, setting, and aspect of every app gets styled by the themes, even the notification panel.
Updates
This is what cinched it for me. I found Sony Xperia devices to be better on 4.3 JB than Google's own android skin on 4.4 Kitkat. Immediate updates lost the attraction they used to have for me back in the days when I couldn't wait to get rid of Gingerbread or ICS
If the Silver variants of the OEM phones will maintain those elements from the OEM that might sway me, but if not, I think I'll pass. It's a step in the right direction but if I'm being honest I don't think Google does a better job of it than the top Android manufacturers are doing.
Phone
Sony's dialer app has better features, more of them, and a better UI
SMS
No contest here. Sony's SMS app is hands down better than Hangouts for SMS.
Music
Sony's Walkman app is far better than the Play Music app.
Photos
Sony's Album app isn't anything to write home about but it's still better than the schizophrenic Google Photos that can't make it's mind up whether it's a photo app or an extension of Google+
Camera
'nuff said
UI
Not thrilled by Google's "launcher". Sony's UI lets me theme the entire phone choosing from several themes that run all the way down into the core levels of the OS, beyond just the homescreen. Every menu, setting, and aspect of every app gets styled by the themes, even the notification panel.
Updates
This is what cinched it for me. I found Sony Xperia devices to be better on 4.3 JB than Google's own android skin on 4.4 Kitkat. Immediate updates lost the attraction they used to have for me back in the days when I couldn't wait to get rid of Gingerbread or ICS
If the Silver variants of the OEM phones will maintain those elements from the OEM that might sway me, but if not, I think I'll pass. It's a step in the right direction but if I'm being honest I don't think Google does a better job of it than the top Android manufacturers are doing.
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