A lot has been made about the Nexus line of devices the last few months, mainly in relation to the rumours that it is going to be replaced in favour of something that is called Android Silver sometime next year. Well, if you wanted a straight answer about what is really happening, you should go no further than asking Dave Burke, the head of Nexus and Android engineering at Google. This was Burke’s response the rumours about the end of Nexus:
“People have been commenting about Nexus because there is something else and they think that means the end of Nexus. That is the totally wrong conclusion to make. People just get excited by concepts and forget why we do things. We are still invested in Nexus.”
Burke goes on to talk specifically about why Nexus is an integral part of Google and the fact that Android software development is actually quite dependant on Nexus hardware:
“When we are working, there are sort of two outputs. We’re building a Nexus device and we’re building the open source code. There is no way you can build the open source code without the phone or tablet or whatever you are building. You have to live and breathe the code you are developing.
You can’t build a platform in the abstract, you have to build a device (or devices). So, I don’t think can can or will ever go away. And then, I think Nexus is also interesting in that it is a way of us explaining how we think Android should run. It is a statement, almost a statement of purity in some respects. I don’t see why we would ever turn away from that, it wouldn’t make sense.”
I think that’s as good a confirmation as any: Nexus is here to stay. It’s also interesting that Burke didn’t technically deny the existence of Android Silver, subtly tip-toeing around the issue. Regardless, it seems more likely than ever that the Nexus 6 and Nexus 8 are real and with Android L around the corner, we couldn’t be more excited.
What do you think about what Burke said about the Nexus line? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: Phandroid
