Image courtesy of garminvs.com
For the last two years, we’ve all be witness to two of the best value smartphones the Android world has ever seen, the Google Nexus 4 and Google Nexus 5. Both were amicably manufactured by LG, though it’s not quite clear how the financials were divided up between Google and LG behind closed doors. What we do know is that it worked out very well for the phones themselves which have been extremely popular among the Android community, and have even turned some away from other platforms based on its sheer value for money. You might think this has worked out well for both Google and LG, however, I think that the next Nexus phone won’t be made by LG. Why is that? I’m glad you asked.
The Nexus 4 beside the LG Optimus G – Image courtesy of GSM Nation
It all starts with a bit of history: it’s a relatively well-known fact that both the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 are loosely based on two of LG’s own smartphones. The Nexus 4 was based on the LG Optimus G, and the Nexus 5 shares ancestry with the LG G2. In terms of exterior design and software builds, they might not seem all that similar, but on the inside is where all the similarities are. This hardware forms the basis for which either Google or LG builds upon to create the Nexus devices which is why the trend we’ve seen for the last 2 years is LG launching their flagship smartphone, followed by a LG-manufactured Nexus phone release shortly after.
From a sales perspective, the Google-branded Nexus phones have done spectacularly. While they were never made to compete on a mass-scale with Samsung, the Nexus phones probably surprised people with just how popular they were. On the LG side of the bridge, however, things haven’t been so rosy. While Google has always been tight-lipped about exactly how many Nexus phones it has sold, LG has been very open about its sales of the LG G2 in particular.
The LG G2 next to the Nexus 5 – Image courtesy of androidmenow.com
LG had planned to sell 10 million of the LG G2’s, however at the end of 2013, they had reportedly only sold 2 million, far below their expectations. Part of the reason for this can probably be attributed to the Nexus 5; at the end of 2013, there were only a few players in the smartphone flagship space: the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the Sony Xperia Z1, the Nexus 5, and of course the LG G2. The Nexus 5 is by far the cheapest of all of these devices, and the LG G2 is by far the least equipped of the remaining 3 devices, so it’s not exactly a surprise to hear that the G2 hasn’t quite done as expected.
By now, you can probably see the irony that has befallen LG. Even if they did take quite a large percentage of the Nexus 5 sales, they’ve effectively devalued the sales they might otherwise have achieved by selling just LG G2’s. That’s not entirely to say that had LG not worked with Google the G2 would have done better, but it does stand to reason that it definitely would have had a better chance in the otherwise high-cost flagship smartphone arena.
There have been rumours that there will be no more Nexus devices, or maybe just one more Nexus, and that there is basically no need for Nexus devices now that manufacturers are buying into Google Play edition devices. Whatever the truth is, I think by now LG should have realized that they have played second fiddle to Google for too long, and if there are any more Nexus devices in the future, I’m willing to bet that they won’t be manufactured by LG.
