A recent press briefing with Google Android executives point to Google releasing a new Nexus device in direct response to the iPhone 5 sometime this year. Read why the iPhone 5′s technology and advancements will need to be next-generation enough to withstand Google’s gambit.
For the multitude of Android phones that have already been released in 2011, it looks like the big smartphone battle between Apple and Google in 2011 will come gladiator-style — mono-a-mono — between a new Google-branded Nexus device and the iPhone 5, according to a recent report from TechCrunch. In the article, writer MG Siegler outlines a recent presser with Google Android execs, wherein Android head Andy Rubin explained that, “I think the Nexus has been the thing we use to set the bar,” and that “the cycles are holidays and the summer time” in terms of the Nexus’ release schedule.
When you think about it, the Nexus release schedule seems well-positioned to take on the next release of the iPhone 5, which could launch anywhere between the end of the Summer and the Christmas holiday, according to a litany of reports and analyses.
It comes as no surprise: although Google has empowered a wide range of device manufacturers and service providers to sell Android-loaded phones, the Nexus line of smartphones — branded exclusively by Google as their flagship design — is the heir apparent and natural rival to the iPhone.
To be sure, the populous line of Android phones have managed to put up impressive numbers against the iPhone 4, even with its Verizon and White iterations helping sales. According to Life Of Android, “[analysts] Canalys estimates that of the total 101 million smartphones shipped during Q1 2011, 37.3 million were Android handsets. That compares with 18.65 million iPhone shipments during the same period.” Other reports based on Google’s own press releases indicate that over 100 million Android phones have been activated to date, versus just under 74 million for the iPhone since its launch in 2007, according to Wikipedia.
But for as much as Android has come into its own in the past couple years and eclipsed Apple in total market share, the Nexus class smartphone does not come close to matching the iPhone in sales. After the abortive launch of the Nexus One (which the iPhone destroyed in sales), the Nexus S has managed to become a somewhat more bona fide Android offering. However, based on what Andy Rubin recently said, Google’s goal to to make the next Nexus an equal to the iPhone 5 is an audacious project, considering the lackluster performance of the Nexus thus far.
What the iPhone 5 Will Have To Contend With On the Next Nexus:
In order for the next Nexus to combat the iPhone 5, it will have to do way better than its predecessors in terms of features and performance. TechCruch has commented that we’ll probably see “a Nexus running Ice Cream Sandwich (the next version of Android that will unify the tablet Honeycomb OS with Android phones)? Perhaps.” This kind of thing is something that looks to be a preemptive answer to iOS 5 and the overall iOS approach.
The other rumor is that the new Nexus will be 4G. Now, whether that means “real 4G” or “fake 4G” remains a question that transcends discussion of the Nexus, as we have already parsed in another article about the iPhone 5 being a possible 4G phone.
Despite the fact that Android is a chief concern and competitor for Apple, the Nexus in an of itself still remains in the iPhone’s rear-view mirror. But in spite of the fact that the Nexus has been a bit of a bust, Apple would be well-advised to design the iPhone 5 with the prospect of an impressive Nexus model being released right on its heels, sometime in the waning months of 2011.
For the multitude of Android phones that have already been released in 2011, it looks like the big smartphone battle between Apple and Google in 2011 will come gladiator-style — mono-a-mono — between a new Google-branded Nexus device and the iPhone 5, according to a recent report from TechCrunch. In the article, writer MG Siegler outlines a recent presser with Google Android execs, wherein Android head Andy Rubin explained that, “I think the Nexus has been the thing we use to set the bar,” and that “the cycles are holidays and the summer time” in terms of the Nexus’ release schedule.
When you think about it, the Nexus release schedule seems well-positioned to take on the next release of the iPhone 5, which could launch anywhere between the end of the Summer and the Christmas holiday, according to a litany of reports and analyses.
It comes as no surprise: although Google has empowered a wide range of device manufacturers and service providers to sell Android-loaded phones, the Nexus line of smartphones — branded exclusively by Google as their flagship design — is the heir apparent and natural rival to the iPhone.
To be sure, the populous line of Android phones have managed to put up impressive numbers against the iPhone 4, even with its Verizon and White iterations helping sales. According to Life Of Android, “[analysts] Canalys estimates that of the total 101 million smartphones shipped during Q1 2011, 37.3 million were Android handsets. That compares with 18.65 million iPhone shipments during the same period.” Other reports based on Google’s own press releases indicate that over 100 million Android phones have been activated to date, versus just under 74 million for the iPhone since its launch in 2007, according to Wikipedia.
But for as much as Android has come into its own in the past couple years and eclipsed Apple in total market share, the Nexus class smartphone does not come close to matching the iPhone in sales. After the abortive launch of the Nexus One (which the iPhone destroyed in sales), the Nexus S has managed to become a somewhat more bona fide Android offering. However, based on what Andy Rubin recently said, Google’s goal to to make the next Nexus an equal to the iPhone 5 is an audacious project, considering the lackluster performance of the Nexus thus far.
What the iPhone 5 Will Have To Contend With On the Next Nexus:
In order for the next Nexus to combat the iPhone 5, it will have to do way better than its predecessors in terms of features and performance. TechCruch has commented that we’ll probably see “a Nexus running Ice Cream Sandwich (the next version of Android that will unify the tablet Honeycomb OS with Android phones)? Perhaps.” This kind of thing is something that looks to be a preemptive answer to iOS 5 and the overall iOS approach.
The other rumor is that the new Nexus will be 4G. Now, whether that means “real 4G” or “fake 4G” remains a question that transcends discussion of the Nexus, as we have already parsed in another article about the iPhone 5 being a possible 4G phone.
Despite the fact that Android is a chief concern and competitor for Apple, the Nexus in an of itself still remains in the iPhone’s rear-view mirror. But in spite of the fact that the Nexus has been a bit of a bust, Apple would be well-advised to design the iPhone 5 with the prospect of an impressive Nexus model being released right on its heels, sometime in the waning months of 2011.
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