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Google’s rumored Android Silver program is reportedly dead

The plan to bring high-end, stock Android phones to carrier stores has fizzled out.

Google's reportedly real Android Silver program is now reportedly dead. According to The Information, Google is shelving the project.

Android Silver was supposed to get high-end stock Android phones into the hands of users, sort of like the Nexus program, but in a way that was more mainstream and inclusive of the rest of the industry. Silver would have given big ad dollars to OEMs and carriers in exchange for sticking to Google's guidelines. Just like Nexus phones, Google would handle the software and updates, and it would be up to OEMs to create "premium" hardware. The program was expected to launch in the US, Germany, and Japan as early as next year, but now it seems like that isn't happening.

The Information pegs the July departure of Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora as the reason for the program's cancellation. Arora was the program's primary champion inside of Google, and with the 10 year Google veteran leaving for Softbank, the program's momentum fizzled.

Frankly, Android Silver never seemed like it would be all that successful. The whole point was to get stock Android phones into carrier stores, but the rumors said that only Sprint and T-Mobile were on board in the US. AT&T and Verizon were probably in opposition to the program, no doubt worried about the amount of power Google already has in the smartphone market. OEMs would have disliked the idea that they were just "dumb pipes" for hardware without any say in the user experience. And if Silver did replace the Nexus program, as was also rumored, users would be unhappy that Google no longer provided unlocked, ecosystem-subsidized flagship devices for half the cost of similarly specced devices.

Between the Nexus program, Google Play Edition devices, and Android One, Google has a ton of programs like this already. The difference would have been that this system aimed to work within the existing infrastructure of carrier stores. The problem with that plan is that carriers have to actually agree to it. It sounds like the company was at a crossroads of "Nexus" or "Android Silver." With the leader of Android Silver leaving the company and Google Engineering Director Dave Burke reaffirming the company's commitment to the Nexus program, the existing way of doing things won out.

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Channel Ars Technica