We’ve seen quite a few leaks about this year’s new Nexus phones from HTC, and today another one has surfaced that claims that the phones won’t actually be branded as Nexus devices.
This year’s new Nexus phones will reportedly eschew the “Nexus” name that we’ve seen on Google’s devices ever since the Nexus One launch years ago. Instead, they’ll feature Google branding, say sources speaking to Android Central. The exact names of the new devices aren’t yet known.
In addition to the new Google branding, this year’s Nexus-but-not-Nexus phones will have new software and a tweaked user interface that’ll be different than the vanilla Android found on past Nexus devices. Again, exact details aren’t known, but a previous leak did claim to show off the new Nexus Launcher that could be used on this year’s phones.
While this news isn’t yet official, it certainly could end up happening. The Nexus name is well-known with phone nerds like us, but the name likely doesn’t mean much with most regular consumers. The Google name is broadly known, though, and so Google could leverage its brand recognition to help its new phones sell more. And with this branding change, it can also add new software on top of vanilla Android that it thinks will help make its new phones better for consumers.
What do you make of this news? Do you think it’d be smart for Google to ditch the Nexus branding on its new phones?
