HandsetsNews

Motorola will make a Nexus device along with Moto X Google Play edition [RUMOR]

127

motorola logo a google company

I think it goes without saying that you should take the following information with the tiniest grain of salt. If you’re allergic to rumor, speculation, and industry gossip, you’ve had your fair warning. For the rest of you, welcome, and let’s start gossiping.

Remember our good friend Taylor Wimberly? This is the guy that spent a portion of his time on Google+ leaking just about everything there was to know about the Moto X. We’d say for the most part, his leaks were accurate, leading us to believe his sources within Motorola were legit. Fast forward to today when Taylor made waves after posting the following message:

“Motorola will release a Nexus smartphone in Q4 (that is not the Moto X).”

You may remember a Google Play Edition of the Moto X is said to release a little later this year, and many disappointed to find the full retail cost of the X wouldn’t hit the now standard Nexus pricing model. Could Googorola really be planning to release a Nexus device of their own this year, hitting that price-point Android fans have grown to love? More importantly, could they do it without stepping on the toes of their current OEM partners? All that remains to be seen. We’re curious to hear your guys’ thoughts on this rumor and if a Nexus Maxx would be your dream device.

UPDATE: As some of you in the comments have pointed out, it’s entirely possible Google could be planning to release a revised Nexus 4 (ala the Nexus 7 2013), which would leave the door wide open for a 5-inch Nexus 5 from LG. Again, your guess is as good as anyone else’s as there is literally no hard evidence, but it’s fun to play along, isn’t it?

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

Google Glass survey mentions non-existent YouTube app, coming soon in XE8 update?

Previous article

Ads have finally made their way back into Google Maps

Next article

You may also like

127 Comments

  1. Sure why not. We’re rumoring everything else these days

    1. like what? heh “rumoring” heh.

  2. A Moto Nexus would be awesome. Love their hardware.

    1. Wait until you see the Moto X… O_o

      1. You’re scaring me Chris. :( I just hope they don’t use SAMOLED screens for Nexus!

        1. they will. They’ll also disable LTE because MotoGooG will say you don’t need it. That way they can claim 5 continuous days of straight use without a battery charge… no LTE and a cheaper screen.

          1. Currently, AMOLEDs are more expensive and have worse half-life than LCDs. Not mentioning when showing mostly white (most Google apps, websites), AMOLED screens sucks more battery. And the reverse burn in that will occur in the navigation bar which Nexuses will have.

          2. I don’t understand the use of the AMOLED. LCD is just better in almost every way. It’s sharper, brighter, and just more realistic looking

          3. Then why does the Galaxy S4 Active, with a TFT screen, have inferior battery life to the normal Galaxy S4, which has an AMOLED?

          4. First, AMOLED are TFTs. what you mean is TFT LCD.

            Source please.
            Unprofessional sites tend to set the brightness to “an equal 50%” when testing battery life. However, most of the time, 50% brightness of an LCD is much brighter than 50% brightness of an AMOLED, which make the test totally unreliable.

          5. Engadget: “50% brightness.”

            GSMarena: Web browsing S4 active > S4, and “keep in mind that the LCD is brighter than the Super AMOLED”. This proves my point: for tasks with mostly white background (e.g. web browsing), LCD wins by a large margin.

            Mashable: Didn’t even mention how they tested it.

            hothardware: Used Antutu test, which AFAIK set the display brightness to max. Again, LCD max brightness >>> AMOLED (up to double), so unfair.

            gottabemobile: Again, no mention of how the test was conducted.

          6. You can lawyer it and claim it was “unfair” all you like — the fact is that pretty much every battery test that’s available online says that the regular S4 gets longer battery life than the Active, and the only exceptions I’ve been able to find were from articles that claimed they didn’t see much of a difference between the two. If your thesis were true and AMOLED were less power-efficient than LCD, then we’d be seeing articles showing us how the Active had much better battery life than the regular S4, since the screen is the primary difference as far as the electronics go.

            You can twist the facts to support your pre-determined conclusion all you like, but it’s not really going to change anything.

            IMO, if the Moto X is any indication of where things are going with Android, AMOLED is probably going to be the industry-wide standard before too long, as things like the Moto X’s notification LED replacement become more common. You want to talk about battery efficiency — being able to display an alarm in only one section of the screen while having the rest of the screen turned off is going to give you major wins there, and features like that aren’t really possible with an LCD screen.

        2. Maybe I’m in the minority but I’m hoping it is SAMOLED. I love OLED screens. LCD is great until you’re in a dark room. The blacks.. Errr… Grays on LCD screens just bug the crap out of me at night after using a AMOLED display for so long.

        3. I was a fan of LG’s TFT on the nexus 4

    2. And their radios

  3. awesom, hopefully turns from being a rumour to reality..

  4. I gave up my dreams of a HTC Nexus last year after it was revealed LG was making the N4, then I saw the G2 recently and wanted dearly for the N5 to be based on it… why you playing with my emotions Google?

    1. It’s only a matter of time before they get another chance. There are only so many OEMs.

      1. I hope so man… I want a Nexus, but Im a HTC fanboy to the core

  5. I know there’s been concern in the past that a Motorola Nexus device would alienate Google’s other OEM partners, but I don’t think that would be the case for two reasons. First, HTC, Samsung, and LG have all gotten a crack at a Nexus in the past. I think this gives them less of a platform to complain that Google is showing internal favoritism. In addition, with the Google Play edition devices, it seems like more manufacturers are getting a chance to showcase their flagship phones with a stock Android experience each year, and therefore competing in the “phone geek” segment of the market.

  6. Its about time Moto did another straight vanilla device, they were the first accidental nexus device with the OG Droid after all.

    1. Then what does that make the G1?

      1. The phone that time forgot? Lol I forgot all about the G1 I guess for me my Android timeline started with the OG droid.

        1. Time didnt forget it, only people that got on the Android bandwagon with the Droid.

          1. It was a joke, I screwed up.

        2. It really started it all

    2. they also did the first tablet for Google, Xoom.

  7. A Moto Nexus would be super damn cool. I just hope that Google chooses a chipset manufacturer that isn’t a jerk about releasing their binaries.

    1. Is this going to be brought up in every single thread here ? Who cares about releasing their binaries. Whoever makes the best chipset should get picked, period.

      1. What do you mean who cares about binaries? Google won’t post the factory images without the appropriate binaries to the chipset for their DEVELOPER phone. Go back to hiding under that rock you’ve clearly been under for many years.

        1. Your whole post made no sense past “What do you mean who cares about binaries?” Ive never heard the term “binaries” used on this forum in all the years ive been posting here so i think my question is valid. I think people that know what “binaries” are and think theyre so important are the ones that have been hiding under the rock you spoke of. Hiding from real life where the majority of people just want a phone made by the best manufacturer with the best chips regardless of whether the manufacturer wont post images of “binaries” or whatever they are. Maybe you should be looking at images of naked women, might help with how uptight you are. NYCHitman, what a name, a self important loser.

        2. Pretty big deal for developers…

    2. go back to the stream.

  8. brilliant idea, that will ensure Europe won’t get the next nexus at all, just like the moto x and chromecast

    1. euros get enough cool phones with better processors.

      1. This.

      2. better processors is debatable

      3. Exactly! Now quit hogging all the good phones and crumpets my good sir!

    2. And India and China and Korea and…

  9. Where in that sentence does it say LG will not make a nexus??? There could very well be a Moto Nexus 4 and an LG Nexus 5.

    1. already a nexus 4… dumb.

      1. There was already a Nexus 7 too, now there are two. There is already a Nexus 10, and in 3 months there will be two of those. No reason to assume anything in the naming convention.

        1. There is a naming convention though… Tablet numbers are screen size, phones are ascending order.

          1. I don’t know if you can really say the phone side is any particular order. We have One, S, Galaxy, and 4. It is just a hodge podge while the tablet side of the equation finally sets a pattern.

          2. The Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus was just Samsung’s big head getting in the way of the naming convention. The One was still first and the 4 was still fourth.

          3. Nexus One (3.7″), Nexus S (4.0″), Galaxy Nexus (4.65″), Nexus 4 (4.7″)

            If it’s Moto I’d be just as sure about seeing “Nexus X” as “Nexus 5”.

          4. Nexus X will probably be the name. Much like the HTC One line, the Samsung S line, and the Samsung Galaxy line. The 4… well, i dunno they don’t have a good brand name. Seriously Nexus Optimus is horrible

    2. It would be pretty nice but very unlikely

  10. just noticed the new motorola logo.. pretty gay

    1. 8 year-olds, dude.

    2. Is there a thing with phandroid.com and homophobes?

      1. Well, when I/we called Obama gay we got tons of thumbsup.. go figure

  11. Moto Nexus and a Moto X GPE? Seems silly, we’re only going to buy the most cost efficient one.

    1. Honestly, it just doesn’t make any sense.

    2. Just waiting for the iNexus…

  12. Q4? I can’t wait that freaking long!

    1. Q4 starts in 3 weeks >.>,

      1. True, I selfishly want it to be out when my contract is up the end of this month though

      2. No try again. Let’s go back to some grade school learning for a moment. Q4 starts in october not September. 12 months/4 (quarters) = 3 months per quarter. Oct Nov and DEC in Q4.

        1. My bad, thought we were in September lol, either way 7 weeks isnt that long either

          1. Yeah, but Q4 doesn’t necessarily mean the beginning of Q4. So long as it’s out by Dec 31, it’s been released in Q4.

          2. Well theirs a good chance its going to be mid to late October like every other nexus device introduced in the fall.

        2. I love the 2010’s. You can’t say wrong stuff anymore

  13. Who cares what the naming convention will be? As long as it’s a damn Nexus! Besides, by everyone’s logic, does that mean that after the Nexus 6, Google will have to come up with a new naming convention? Because the 7 already has that spot, unlikely. Hopefully they base it off size…

    1. Think about it: the Nexus X will probably be based off of the moto X. After all: they do have a 4.7 inch screen, appropriate for a next gen nexus 4 size… need better specs than the Moto X though.

  14. I would rather have LG make the Nexus 5. I would love to see the G2 turned to a Nexus 5.

    1. I suppose it’s entirely possible Google could come out of left field with a revised Nexus 4 from Motorola, and a Nexus 5 from LG.

  15. Moto X is bad enuf, i bet you geeks would have a shitfit if they put it in front of Nexus. MOTO makes it sound like a kids toy. Why dont they make a new Sidekick, then it will make sense.

    1. Why so bitter??

      1. Not bitter, my point is that the name MOTO is gay.

        1. At least it’s not dickphone or something THAT would be super gay

        2. “Gay”?? What are you 12?

    2. Sidekick is somehow better?

  16. My HTC ONE will keep me happy for about a year or so, maybe less now that i dont have to worry about contracts and can just switch phones every 6 months with the JUMP program from T-Mobile.

  17. That is incorrect information. LG already has made the new Nexus 4 device (yes, just like the new 7, it will still be called the 4).

    1. Source?

      1. Just say I have very reliable information. :)

        1. Thanks, anonymous person on the internet!

        2. If LG has already made another Nexus 4, than that leaves the door wide open for a Nexus 5.

          While it’s entirely possible Motorola could make an entirely new device with a 5-inch display, they usually base the Nexus off of some current model.

          Of course, maybe Motorola has a 5-incher in its future, but we’ve already seen LG’s beastly 5-inch phone.

          1. They should make the 2013 Nexus 4 and a Nexus 5. Choices people, choices.

    2. WHO ARE YOU?!?! :O

      1. I used to work for Google, but no longer do.

        1. I wonder why..

    3. Y U No make comments now? Lol….stop HypeBeastin’

  18. The Nexus situation (phone) has changed, used to about pure Google Experience, and a cheap price with decent to top end specs.

    Now its basically just about price… since there are a bunch of Google Play Edition (GPE) phones, which I’m sure will continue in the future. However they are not cheap. So since I always buy Nexus phones w/out contracts. I will be waiting for this next cheap Nexus Device (price wise hopefully) to come out .

    Also perhaps what this guys is saying, is that Motorola will release a phone in Q4 that will be also a GPE version. Since it was recently said that the Moto X will not get a GPE, maybe its in response to that hes saying this.

    1. You get what you pay for, ask all future owners of that gay sounding motorolla phone with the X after it.

    2. No, quick, if I remember correctly, the same day the Moto X was announced, it leaked that afternoon that Motorola WAS already working on a Moto X GPE. SO, that would mean TWO phones. And Google has already said that Nexus program and the devices that come from it will continue, which I am extremely happy about since I had a Nexus S 4G and loved it enough to know that the Nexus phones were IT. Got my Nexus 4 in Jan and it has cemented my feelings that there is nothing better than a Nexus phone (although I freaking LOVE the HTC One and the Moto X)

      1. Ok thought I heard motorola put out a tweet or statement saying they are not making a GPE of the Moto X.

        But not sure if that was rebuked or whatever, good if they are though!

        Ya I have had only Nexus phone, no need to convince me lol, I will never buy anything else :)

  19. rather have another LG nexus then Motorola making it.

    1. After seeing that LG G2 I kinda feel the same way.. but you never know..

    2. Rather have a nexus made by HTC again. Wont buy one till they do. Need quality hardware with Stock Google software. Dont trust Motorolla, especially after we get the mid range MotoX, god i cant even stand typing MOTO, so gay.

      1. have you even touched the Moto X yet? guess not…

        1. I wont touch a phone thats mid range, plus after youve touched an HTC ONE you wouldnt want to touch any other phone.

      2. HTC would make a great nexus

        1. Yes they would and they did. Don’t forget about the Nexus one. Still use mine from time to time. It’s dated but feels solid and works great!

        2. Love to have a Nexus along the lines of the HTC ONE which I own. Would be awesome.

  20. It just got serious

  21. If they make Moto X Google Edition and call it N5, I am fine with that. But they MUST bring down the price to match Nexus series. (ala N4). Otherwise, a no no.

    1. Why call it an Nexus 5 when it has the same 4.7″ screen size as the Nexus 4? I’m thinking they’ll call it the Nexus 4 again just like they call the new Nexus 7.

      1. it will be Nexus 5 because it’s the 5th Nexus. The Nexus 4 is named nexus 4 because it’s the 4th nexus, not because it has a 4.7” screen. Also 4.7” is closer to 5” than to 4”. So the screen size here doesn’t have anything to do with naming the phone. it’s just coincidence. Nexus tablets are different tho. They are named based on their screen sizes.

        1. Nexus 4 was called the Nexus 4 because of the 4″ screen. Like the Nexus 7 for its 7″ screen and the Nexus 10 for its 10″ screen. They went with a pattern.

          1. I came to that conclusion a couple months myself, about the Nexus device number being related to the screen size. It would be a new way of naming the devices since the previous Nexi were not named in this way (although Ha lala is somewhat right also since the Nexus 4 IS IN FACT the fourth such device). I do wish that people would stop saying “Nexus 5” though because there is no telling if Google will stick with naming according to screen size. Wish people would just say “the next Nexus”.

  22. Moto Nexus means latest and greatest for cheap?

    1. very cheap, mid range cheap.

    2. It would be nice if it supported all carriers like the regular Moto X then. The Moto X already seems like a great phone to me: fast, awesome battery life, not too big, and near stock Android.

      1. The price tag for the Moto X is killer. Why not just get a Nexus 4 since it is pretty much the same thing? If you want all of that and don’t mind the size, the Note 2 is by far the best overall value phone now because it is like $450 for a mint condition phone too. I would like an Atrix HD successor style Nexus 4 (2.0)/5 with a 10MP + Camera sensor, 3100 mAh battery, 1080p display, Snapdragon 600 or 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, etc.

  23. I like the idea of Motorola making the next Nexus. Motorola has just always made higher quality devices than LG. If you compare the hardware of the LG G2 and the Moto X (not specs!!) it is clear than Motorola just makes higher quality smartphones. Plus a kevlar nexus would be pretty awesome

    1. I’m not sure how its clear that the moto x had been built with better quality. Some have said the motoX backplate has scuffed rather easily(white model) and the buttons in the side have been somehat loose. The G2 has what reported build faults so far?

      1. depends which g2 you’re talking about. the g2x was pretty terrible

  24. After an interview with the CEO of Motorola on AllthingsD, when he said they got materials but can sell them for cheaper prices.. I expected 99$ on contract so I was disappointed but this nexus could work because, lets he honest most teens have/want iPhones but this moto x is kind of like one and is more customizable. I live in Dallas and alot of people I know will buy this.

  25. Wait Chris when will the review for the moto x come?

  26. Google and Motorola are in a perfect spot to be a true American company. Show the world, specifically the USA that you can launch a product properly. PLEASE take a page from the Steve Jobs-Apple and learn how to make, sell, and advertise a product.

    You are an American company with American made products, software and services. Bundle this together with proper accessories and you will win over customers faster than you can count! Remind us why we should buy your stuff!

    Please stop outsourcing

    1. I think you mean an American company with American clipped together parts which are made in Asia ;)

      1. Welcome to the world of business. Plus, we dont even have the ability or companies to produce this stuff. Would it make you feel better if the stuff was made in Japan? Korea? Phillipines?

        1. Well Steven I never said I had a problem with where is was made. If the phone was made in the US it would undoubtedly be more expensive due to labour costs so I don’t think anyone would be happy. I’m happy for electronics manufacturing to be done anywhere so long as the products are of good quality and the workers are paid fairly. The cheapest country that can meet these requirements is fine with me, I was just pointing out it’s not “made in america”. Just a light hearted comment, didn’t you see the winking smilie ;)

          1. I must apologize, my sense of humor is broken before coffee. I was pointing out all of those were Asian countries minus the Philippines. Most people complain about Chinese Made stuff. Just a tongue in cheek comment.

          2. No worries, everybody needs coffee before things make sense :)

          3. I don’t need one. I just need good nexus 5, not an expensive toy :-). Just kidding..

    2. Also: being all-American will allow Googlerola to get decent rulings in the Patent Wars.

  27. this kinda seems like a silly idea, I mean it’s so close to stock anyway. If the play edition is EXACTLY THE SAME which I doubt as far as features but maybe a little cheaper, meh, who knows, can’t get in australia anyway.

  28. Moto Nexus to me seems unrealistic at this point in time. Google is trying to make moto more profitable and selling a game right at cost seems like the worst possible way to do that at the moment. Also given Moto’s kick off to start making newer phones in the US it seems highly unlikely that they may ever actually be a part of the nexus program because as the Moto X has shown the margins end up lower with costs being equal to or a little over flagship phones with slightly lower end hardware in the device to boot due to employees making about 9.25 times as much as they would over in china.

    It seems far more likely to me that the next Nexus device would come from Samsung, LG, Sony, or HTC (as google doesn’t want to show favoritism to anyone and anything done with Moto right now right after the release of the Moto X may seem like heavy favoritism) These rumors started because LG said they had no plans to make a Google Play edition of the G2 primarily so people are speculating that due to that there are no plans to make a Nexus device based on the same hardware with a slightly tweaked design (given the way the battery is done on the G2 I’d love to get my hands on a Nexus device using it though I could do with or without the back buttons) LG still seems like the most likely candidate though or one of the other manufacturers at least in my eyes.

  29. Nothing like a little nipple twisting to start my day off. ;-)

  30. if THIS true I’ll try too hold out a bit longer.

  31. Please be a spec whore phone please

  32. 5 phones by Motorola this year. o.0

  33. LG G2= Nexus 5

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in Handsets