And the last one is gone.
We’ve seen several Google Play edition devices disappear from Google’s virtual storefront in recent weeks, including the Motorola Moto G and Samsung Galaxy S4. The HTC One (M8) GPe managed to stick around that whole time, but today it, too, has been yanked from Google Play.
The HTC One (M8) GPe is now gone from the Devices page of the Google Play store, leaving just the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, and Nexus 9. Navigating directly to the One (M8) GPe’s product page presents you with a product that’s “no longer available for sale”.
So now there are no Google Play edition devices available for purchase. That’s definitely a bummer, as the program was meant to combine Google’s Nexus software experience that includes vanilla Android and swift updates along with with flagship hardware from manufacturers like Samsung and HTC. With the disappearance of all of the GPe devices and no new ones to take their place, the future of the GPe program is looking a bit dim.
Do you think Google should continue the Google Play edition program? Or are you happy with Nexus devices and flagships with custom UIs?