The Rise and Fall of the Nexus

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Originally shared by Tom Gehrke

 

The Rise and Fall of the Nexus

 

It's kind of BS that the most recent Nexus tablet still does not have 5.1. One of the rationales for buying a Nexus device is the expectation that they will receive the most recent Google updates in a timeframe that beats what can be provided by OEMs and carriers.

 

The release of 5.0 wasn't exactly smooth. 5.0.1 didn't fix all of the problems. Yet even though 5.0.2 and 5.1 have been release, the Nexus 9 still runs 5.0.1. Why?

 

Allegedly it's because the Nexus 9 team is still working out the bugs.

 

Really? Let's look at what all of the other teams have done. Here are our Google achievers:

 

 • Nexus 6 at 5.1 (makes sense)

 • Nexus 5 at 5.1 (sure)

 • Nexus Player at 5.1.1 (what?)

 • Nexus 7 [2013] at 5.1.1 (sure)

 • Nexus 10 at 5.1.1 (probably didn't test the update for the 3 people who bought one)

 • Nexus 4 at 5.1 (wow...)

 

Interesting. The only products worse off that the Nexus 9 are the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus Q.

 

Now here is the list of devices better off than the N9 updated to reflect availability in the Google store.

 

 • Nexus 6 at 5.1 (makes sense)

 • Nexus 5 at 5.1 (sure)

 • Nexus Player at 5.1.1 (what?)

 • Nexus 7 [2013] at 5.1.1 (sure)

 • Nexus 10 at 5.1.1 (probably didn't test the update for the 3 people who bought one)

 • Nexus 4 at 5.1 (wow...)

 

Of the three product lines currently being sold (the N6, the N9 and the Nexus Player), updates are available for the flagship phone (as it should be) and Google's lackluster-in-many-areas-TV-Device-that-isn't-the-Chromecast.

 

Makes perfect sense.

 

Now carrier devices are receiving the 5.1.x update with still no firm release date for the N9.

 

That brings me to ask...

 

What is the Nexus line all about? It's "straight from Google", but is that the selling point it once was? Based on recent sales numbers, apparently consumers are not seeing the value.

 

What do you think?

http://itechtriad.com/2015/05/01/google-employee-says-android-5-1-1-is-not-far-out-for-the-nexus-9/

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Ron Lebron? I think you're missing the point. It's great if you're not having any problems with your Nexus 9 and if you're satisfied with the status quo, I couldn't be happier.

 

But to address that topic (which wasn't my original topic), much as I love the device, my Nexus 9 does have issues that would likely be mitigated by the newer software. I would also like to have access to the features that were added no matter how trivial they may seem.

 

As to my original point, the Nexus program was originally marketed as "you get the latest and greatest before anyone else because you don't have to deal with the delays caused by the OEM modifying skins/functions/services and the carrier delays as they do whatever it is that carriers do." The recent trends don't seem to bear that goal out.

 

Surely Google did internal testing of their 5.1.x builds internally. Surely they would have used Google-branded devices for testing. Would not the N9 been one of those? If 5.1.x was deemed to be shippable, then what is wrong with it that it can't be made available to the Google product line in short order?

 

Additionally, is there something about the Nexus 9 hardware that makes it more problematic for the company whose name is stamped on both the hardware and software to update?

 

Or... (and this was my point) ...are the values of the Nexus program no longer held by the big G? Are we seeing a shift in direction wherein the N9 not getting an update (a minor concern) is but one of the signals of the death of the program as we know it (dun dun DUNNNNNN).?

[G+_Joseph Cappellino]

I think the real problem here is nVidia.  From what I've heard they are delaying the graphics drivers (for some unknown reason).  And, since they can't deliver a new kernel without a change to graphics drivers, they are at a stand-still.  Verizon f**ked up the Galaxy Nexus, and now nVidia is doing the same to the Nexus 9.  It's a shame really.  Hopefully, this will be mitigated in future releases.

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Joseph Cappellino That's as good a reason as any, I suppose. But it really undermines the Nexus philosophy. I guess Google has no leverage here. Making public what the holdup is might piss nVIDIA off, I guess.

 

What happens when the nVIDIA Shield gets 5.1 before the N9? In the Land of Conspiracies is this an intentional delay? (Or it could just mean that nVIDIA isn't good and cranking out driver updates even when their own products are impacted.)

 

So Google can't deliver on the promise of Nexus because they don't own the stack and don't have agreements in place to expedite updates.

[G+_Joseph Cappellino]

Pretty much.