Google Nexus 6 Its the end of the Nexus brand

[Robbie317]

Re: So its just anothe phone now, not special?

Deliverance areas

That is hilarious....

Yes I loved Nashville.. I miss it... Originally from North Carolina but lived in Nashville for 7 years and now Dallas the last 3.... I love Dallas too.... A lot more to do here vs Nashville (not that Nashville was some Podunk town with nothing to do)

 

[LeoRex]

Re: Its the end of the Nexus brand

Agree, the entitlement that they show is baffling. You can never satisfy those users...

Perspective.

Why was the Nexus 5's price so low? LG took a G2, downgraded it a bit and then let Google handle the rest. Google set it as a loss leader and, frankly, didn't expect much out of it. Turns out that it became a bit of a success (which Google was pleasantly surprised). Fast forward to today... Google appears to expect much more from the Nexus 6 and the OEM is taking a more prominent role... between the Motorola logo and the near identical form factor to the rest of the Moto line, the possiblity of it being a loss leader was pretty much zero.

So what we have is top of the line, brand-spanking new specs in the phone, which is a departure for the Nexus line... its not some slightly detuned version of a months old phone. It has mostly top shelf hardware and, by wide margin, Motorola's most high-end device. So its hitting the market as a class leader....

And even at that price, it is still hundreds less than its direct competitors. iPhone 6+ starts at $750 (for the 16GB version). Note 4? $720+ for the locked, $840 for the unlocked version.

 

[b_slow1]

Re: The carriers forced the price

Samsung and LG are number 2 and 3 in the US and both sell their flagship phones unlocked/off contract for $549-$799. If Google wants the Nexus to be more than just the Android geeks' phone - getting carrier support and offering high end no compromise hardware had to happen. Most US customers are on contract on Verizon and AT&T. These are the people Google is going after.

The Moto G is really meant for prepaid customers/customers that buy phones at full price that want a good phone without breaking the bank.

Yes, I agree with what you said.... IF Google's primary goal was to increase the profits from their Nexus phone line. That very may well be the case. However, Google seems to be a little bit more clever and tend to think more long-term than most companies. If Google entered into direct competition with phones like the LG G3 and the Galaxy Note 4, they'd be cannibalizing their own Android users. Android is Google's "Trojan horse", so I don't see why they would do that. Do they really want a few more million dollars from Nexus phone sales, or do they want 85% market share in the U.S. (the same that they have overseas)? Google will make a TON of money long-term when everyone is locked into the Android ecosystem.

 

[Premium1]

Re: Its the end of the Nexus brand

Perspective.

Why was the Nexus 5's price so low? LG took a G2, downgraded it a bit and then let Google handle the rest. Google set it as a loss leader and, frankly, didn't expect much out of it. Turns out that it became a bit of a success (which Google was pleasantly surprised). Fast forward to today... Google appears to expect much more from the Nexus 6 and the OEM is taking a more prominent role... between the Motorola logo and the near identical form factor to the rest of the Moto line, the possiblity of it being a loss leader was pretty much zero.

So what we have is top of the line, brand-spanking new specs in the phone, which is a departure for the Nexus line... its not some slightly detuned version of a months old phone. It has mostly top shelf hardware and, by wide margin, Motorola's most high-end device. So its hitting the market as a class leader....

And even at that price, it is still hundreds less than its direct competitors. iPhone 6+ starts at $750 (for the 16GB version). Note 4? $720+ for the locked, $840 for the unlocked version.

Exactly yet people still complain. The 6+ is $849 for the similar storage model.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Re: So its just anothe phone now, not special?

There may not be any. I personally view the lack of Moto software on a phone made by Motorola as inexcusable.

You clearly don't understand the point of Nexus phones. Vanilla Android is their reason for being. No carrier mods, no manufacturer mods. Android as Google created it.

 

[someguy01234]

Re: So its just anothe phone now, not special?

You clearly don't understand the point of Nexus phones. Vanilla Android is their reason for being. No carrier mods, no manufacturer mods. Android as Google created it.

It have a lot to do with the Android SDK and developers as well. You're not going to be getting Moto X software source codes when you download Android SDK.

 

[RealDogBoy]

Re: The carriers forced the price

Not exactly zero evidence.... People have done tear downs of the devices and running estimates on what those parts cost wholesale and estimating production cost you can come up with a rough idea on what the devices cost.... I would say they sold the N4, N5 and N7 at very slim margins.... and that isn't even going to include what it cost them in R&D plus storage, packaging, returns and customer service.....

Google pricing the Nexus 6 at $650 makes sense | Android | Geek.com

I liked this article on the whole subject....

The same goes for phones like the inexplicably cheap OnePlus One or the Huawei Ascend Mate2. These aren’t phones that are being built intentionally to cut corners, in fact for the most part these are all fantastic handsets worthy of being called flagships. The fact that they all come in at under $400 is based on a decision to sell the phone at as close to the cost as possible, largely so the phone can compete with the likes of Google and Motorola in spaces where the Nexus 5 and Moto G are so popular. As nice as it may be to assume these companies are doing this out of kindness, at the end of the day it’s an unsustainable race to the bottom, and Google has pulled out of the race before things got ugly.

Very good post -- thanks for the link.

About the "race to the bottom" thing -- and this doesn't apply only to smartphones. Competition involving aggressive price cutting generally benefits consumers unless it leads to a situation where one or two companies dominate an industry and barriers to entry become very high. At that point those dominate companies can raise prices -- which clearly hurts consumers. I don't think that's about to happen with the smartphone market. On a side note, I like what the "race to the bottom" did to the desktop PC market.

About the cost of producing these handsets: Google may look at certain costs (R&D in particular) as money that they would spend to develop Android even if they discontinued the Nexus line. That would give them a different perspective on pricing.

 

[Robbie317]

Re: The carriers forced the price

About the cost of producing these handsets: Google may look at certain costs (R&D in particular) as money that they would spend to develop Android even if they discontinued the Nexus line. That would give them a different perspective on pricing.

Considering they make the majority of their income from search/ad revenue I figured back with the N4 both N7's and the N5 they considered pretty much the entire Nexus program as a means to an end... Lose money on the front end and make it back on the back end.. They just posted their 3rd quarter results and "ONLY" had $16.52 billion in revenue and $3.7 billion in profits.... Oneplus doesn't have another source of income behind them.... Google is burning through a couple billion a year on R&D and the "X" Labs..... They probably P*SS away more on R&D this year than Oneplus will have in sales alone over the next 5 years...

 

[chezm]

Re: Its the end of the Nexus brand

To be fair, though, most contracts in the US have 2-year terms. (I hear Canada has 3-year contracts!) Making changes to people's relationships with the carriers is a long-term endeavor.

Thankfully we have gotten away from 3 year contracts in Canada by support of CRTC...but too bad the 3 big ISP's have reaped on this by increasing the monthly plans.

 

[Ry]

Re: Its the end of the Nexus brand

Lot of people feel this way. Part of me thinks its 6" just so they could call it Nexus 6. And every phone next year is going to be 64bit, truly taking advantage on L in a way the N6 cannot, which is ironic.

I see the Nexus 6 as the 32-bit Lollipop launch device.

I see the Nexus 9 as the 64-bit Lollipop launch device.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[Ry]

Re: So its just anothe phone now, not special?

There may not be any. I personally view the lack of Moto software on a phone made by Motorola as inexcusable.

Regardless of OEM, the Nexus has shown off Google's version of Android.

Look at the GPe versions too. Moto G GPe has none of the Motorola software enhancements.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[Ry]

Re: So its just anothe phone now, not special?

Part of the reason why Samsung is king is because of the removable battery and SD card support and they help separate Android from Apple. LG has gained marketshare and I think it was smart of them to also offer a removable battery and SD card support for the G3.

Now we agree on everything else. Most Note users barely touch the SPen and few ever use Samsung's apps. Most people get Samsung because of the high end hardware (display and camera) and because of the feature rich interface. Many people like Touchwiz (I don't).

SD cards and removable batteries don't drive sales, IMO.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[vtpmt81]

Re: The carriers forced the price

Yes, I agree with what you said.... IF Google's primary goal was to increase the profits from their Nexus phone line. That very may well be the case. However, Google seems to be a little bit more clever and tend to think more long-term than most companies. If Google entered into direct competition with phones like the LG G3 and the Galaxy Note 4, they'd be cannibalizing their own Android users. Android is Google's "Trojan horse", so I don't see why they would do that. Do they really want a few more million dollars from Nexus phone sales, or do they want 85% market share in the U.S. (the same that they have overseas)? Google will make a TON of money long-term when everyone is locked into the Android ecosystem.

Agreed. Google can't build and sell a phone at the expense of Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, and Sony.

The Nexus 6 isn't for everyone - many people bristled at the size (I don't blame them it is huge). Some people want SD cards support and removable battery - this phone isn't for them.

I think Google is offering more choice - buying a Note 4 is still a great idea if you want the S-Pen and SD card support. Buying a LG G3 is a good move if you want a phablet that has a small footprint yet offers SD card support, removable battery, a great screen. Others want a solid normal sized phone - they will looking at getting the SGS5, HTC One, Xperia Z3, Moto X, Nexus 5, etc.

Some people want a smaller phone - they should get the Z3 Compact.

 

[vtpmt81]

Re: So its just anothe phone now, not special?

SD cards and removable batteries don't drive sales, IMO.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

No they don't drive sales - but plenty of some people with Samsung phones won't switch to a phone without them. Samsung provides them and it is a huge advantage that they have over Apple. It isn't a coincidence that HTC, Sony, and LG both provide SD card support in their flagship phones - they provide it because Samsung does and they want to negate that advantage that Samsung has over them.

Removable batteries also don't drive sales - but this is an important feature for a few people. if you travel a lot - having a hot swappable battery can be a nice feature. Most manufacturers are moving away from removable batteries for aesthetic reasons/plus most people only need a battery to last 16 hours max on a charge and almost all phones can achieve that (with regular use).

 

[Ry]

No they don't drive sales - but plenty of some people with Samsung phones won't switch to a phone without them. Samsung provides them and it is a huge advantage that they have over Apple. It isn't a coincidence that HTC, Sony, and LG both provide SD card support in their flagship phones - they provide it because Samsung does and they want to negate that advantage that Samsung has over them.

Removable batteries also don't drive sales - but this is an important feature for a few people. if you travel a lot - having a hot swappable battery can be a nice feature. Most manufacturers are moving away from removable batteries for aesthetic reasons/plus most people only need a battery to last 16 hours max on a charge and almost all phones can achieve that (with regular use).

But my point is that those features aren't what's driving people to Samsung.

It's their marketing.

Just like Apple.

Have you seen an ad recently that touted SD cards and removable batteries?

Also, IMO the other OEMs dropped SD card support only to bring it back in later models because security around SD cards is better with KitKat.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[clatus]

But my point is that those features aren't what's driving people to Samsung.

It's their marketing.

Just like Apple.

Have you seen an ad recently that touted SD cards and removable batteries?

Marketing didn't drive my sale of the Note 3. I don't watch commercials or events. User experience, reviews, sd cards, spen, removable batteries, long battery life, and other features drove my sale.

All marketing does it get the foot in the door and bring awareness. The rest depends on the product.

 

[Wildo6882]

Marketing didn't drive my sale of the Note 3. I don't watch commercials or events. User experience, reviews, sd cards, spen, removable batteries, long battery life, and other features drove my sale.

All marketing does it get the foot in the door and bring awareness. The rest depends on the product.

Us on these here tech sites aren't the ones he's referring to. The masses are influenced a little more by advertising than we are. We study this stuff. We research this stuff. Those who are a little less inclined to look too much into researching phones are more likely to be influenced by advertising. Hence the Apple/Samsung Duopoly.

 

[Chex313]

Re: Its the end of the Nexus brand

The only problem I see with the new nexus is its size! Not everyone wants a 6 inch phone, they shouldve done 2 models a 5 inch and a 6 IMO. But the other stuff about pricing and carriers, I don't really see that as killing the nexus brand.

Posted with my Galaxy S5, via the Android Central App

They do have 2 phone's the N5 and the N6....As far as I can see the N5 isn't going anywhere. It is still a great buy, with only a handful of other phone's being better values. The One+ and maybe the Moto G (LTE). Very few others offer as good a value as the N5 32GB.

 

[delrey1900]

Us on these here tech sites aren't the ones he's referring to. The masses are influenced a little more by advertising than we are. We study this stuff. We research this stuff. Those who are a little less inclined to look too much into researching phones are more likely to be influenced by advertising. Hence the Apple/Samsung Duopoly.

My parents for an example, that are in there 60's, are both considering replacing their current phones (iPhone 4 and LG Spectrum). Neither one of them know what they want. They just called me and they want me to meet them at Best Buy to help them pick one out. Their first initial thoughts were Samsung and Apple. Why? Cause they see the names everywhere. Fortunately, they rely on me to help them pick out a phone that fits their needs. My wife, who initially had an iPhone 4S and just got a new G3 a couple of months back. She wanted a Samsung cause that's what she knew. I pushed her for the G3 since she doesn't like having the same phone as me (Moto X). My point being, good marketing works.

 

[Chex313]

But my point is that those features aren't what's driving people to Samsung.

It's their marketing.

Just like Apple.

Have you seen an ad recently that touted SD cards and removable batteries?

Also, IMO the other OEMs dropped SD card support only to bring it back in later models because security around SD cards is better with KitKat.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

and unfortunately for Samsung that's backfired. They spent so much on advertising that profits are down 60% over last year.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/sams...ts-plunge-on-weak-smartphone-sales-1412641323