End of road for Nexus as Google banks on Sailfish, Marlin

Rumours that Google is planning to drop the Nexus brand name were virtually confirmed on Wednesday, with several reports that Nexus phones will cease to exist at the end of this year.

Yes, it's still widely believed that Google has tasked HTC to develop two new smartphones this year under the codenames Sailfish and Marlin.

These will still come out, but not with the Nexus brand. Moreover, a report in Android Central says that for the first time these smartphones won't be running on the stock Android OS.

According to Android Central, the upcoming Marlin and Sailfish smartphones won't have the Nexus or for that matter HTC branding anywhere. Instead, Google is planning to put its brand ''front and center'' and will possibly just carry a large G logo on their back cover.

The Nexus range, it thus seems, ends at the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P, both of which were launched last year.

Although in terms of hardware the upcoming Google phones could be considered successors to the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P, they will offers a different software experience compared to what is currently available on Nexus phones. Even as the new phones emphasise the stock Android, with its clean user interface, they will come with software tweaks that will be unique to the Google phones.

One example of such a software tweak is the new Google Now launcher leaked a few weeks ago. Although the launcher is not the part of Android Nougat, it has been rumoured it will be the default launcher on upcoming Google phones. The launcher has a redesigned search as well as lacks the app drawer. Instead it put the apps one swipe away on the screen.

While the Nexus phones were originally created in 2010 in a bid to showcase Google's Android operating system, the upcoming Google phones will possibly serve as the vehicle for the company's various services, including the services powered by Google Assistant, which will use AI and machine learning to offer users a "smarter" experience.

The change in strategy would also bring some changes in the dynamics that Google has with its hardware partners. Whereas with Nexus phones the company was sort of a partner to the likes LG, Samsung and Sony, with the Google phones it will be a direct competitor.

As far as consumers are concerned, for them the changes, although significant, would not be as far-reaching as they would be for other Android phone makers. In fact, it might even be better for consumers because now they would get a phone over which Google will possible have a greater ownership right.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai had earlier said that the company was taking a greater interest in Nexus phones. "We will be more opinionated about the design of the phones... You'll see us hopefully add more features on top of Android on Nexus phones. There's a lot of software innovation to be had," Pichai had said in June.

The company has also established a new hardware division under ex-Motorola executive Rick Osterloh. This division will likely design the new Google phones in the coming years.