The Nexus Q was such a misleading product that Google decided to shut it down before the device was released to users. Ten years into the day after its introduction at I / O 2012, the $ 299 media player, positioned as a “social streaming device”, remains a unique failure in Google’s hardware history. Say what you want about Google Glass, but the company’s first foray into wearable technology has at least made people talk. The Nexus Q, in contrast, was an example of what can happen when a company gets lost a lot in its own fenced garden.
There were promising aspects of Q; looking back, you can clearly see the base and early DNA of Google’s Chromecast in it. But everything about the execution was fundamentally short-sighted – and a little strange. In the promotional video below, which Google released on the day it announced the Nexus Q, someone described the product as “this living alien object.”
“There is something inside him. He wants it to come out. “Completely normal stuff. Sixty seconds after the video, you still have no idea what this thing is or what the hell it does. In the end, we learn that the Nexus Q is a” small Android-powered computer “that can play music or videos from the cloud.
Leaving aside over-marketing, the Nexus Q was not well received. David Pogue wrote in The New York Times that he was “confused” and “insanely upgraded.” We gave him 5. Feedback from CNET, Engadget and others shared the same consensus: as impressive as its hardware was, Q just didn’t do enough to justify a price much higher than Roku or Apple TV at the time. A device that only worked with Google services was simply not practical or attractive to many people.
The streaming player had to be made in the United States, which no doubt contributed to its astounding price.
Designed by Google, made in the USA
But heck, it looked cool. The Nexus Q really radiated sci-fi vibrations (especially when banana plugs and other A / V cables ran out) thanks to its orb-shaped industrial design and glowing LED ring. That was long before Amazon’s Echo came out, remember. Q seemed like something that could get you into the matrix. And everything was original. Unlike other Nexus devices, which were collaborating with partners such as LG, Samsung, Asus, Huawei and others, the Nexus Q was entirely conceptualized by Google.
It may look familiar now, but the Nexus Q had an incredibly cool design for its time. GIF: Google
Most surprising of all, it is designed and manufactured in the United States. Google has never emphasized or exaggerated US production – perhaps to avoid any idea that this would become a trend – but it has undoubtedly contributed to Q’s planned price of $ 299. (The original Moto X would later be assembled in the United States, but this initiative did not last long.)
Inside the scope was a 25-watt “audiophile-grade” amplifier that could power passive speakers – this remains Q’s most unique hardware component – along with optical, Micro HDMI and Ethernet connections. A micro USB port was available “to promote common hacking ability,” according to hardware director Matt Hershenson. The Nexus Q is powered by the same smartphone chip as the Galaxy Nexus. You can rotate the top half of the sphere to control the volume, or touch it to mute anything playing. All the makings of a great living room device were there. But limiting software constraints shattered that potential.
The Nexus Q’s built-in amp was an unusual inclusion. You can’t find banana connectors on many streaming players. Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
Nexus Q only supports Google services, including Play Music, Play Movies & TV, and YouTube. There was no Netflix or Hulu or Spotify. Google took the trouble to install an amplifier, but audiophiles had no way to get audio without losing the analog connectors.
Q had no on-screen user interface and was not available with a remote; you can only control it using a special Android app. Some of this will sound familiar to Chromecast owners. But there were big differences between the Nexus Q and Chromecast, which arrived a year later, which made the $ 35 streaming key such a success. After learning a serious lesson from the stubborn preference for its own software, Google adjusted the course and gave a strong impetus to popular third-party applications to accept casting. And most importantly, Chromecast also supports iOS.
Social streaming
In addition to the basic functionality of the Nexus Q for music and video playback, Google has also tried to present the product as a social experience. Many people could contribute to music playlists without dragging someone’s phone around or bumping over Bluetooth speaker control. Friends can share YouTube or Play Movies content on the TV screen in a similar way – as long as they’re on your Wi-Fi.
This all sounds good in theory, but again, that was before Chromecast. The process of “social” streaming was … let’s say, awkward. If you really want to run the “everyone at the party can DJ” scenario, all your friends will also need to download and install the Nexus Q app before they can add songs to the queue. Even then, reviews complain that the software is unintuitive when it comes to managing music playlists. It was too easy to accidentally play a song and blow up a collaborative mix that was in the works.
Fast forward a few years, and eventually the best music streaming services realized they could just decide for themselves. You can now create a shared playlist in Spotify (or YouTube Music) – no special device or random applications required.
You can rotate – or caress in this case – the top half of the Nexus Q to adjust the volume. GIF: Google
End of queue
Google has heard negative reviews and “is that all it does?” Criticism of the Nexus Q is loud and clear. Until the end of July 2012, just a month after its announcement, the company announced that it was postponing the release of the product to consumers “while we work to make it even better.” Customers with an early pre-order will receive the device free of charge as a token of appreciation for their early interest.
But the Nexus Q never made it to store shelves. By the end of 2012, Google had quietly removed the product from its website. In 2013, the company’s applications began to completely violate compatibility with the device. With so few Q units in the world, Google doesn’t waste time leaving it in the rearview mirror.
At least that crash led to the Chromecast a year later. Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
After Google abandoned the hardware, the masters and mod developers spent several years trying to give new life to the Nexus Q. It joined the CyanogenMod chain and one man even managed to turn it into a USB audio device to take advantage of this integrated amplifier. But there are simply not many devices in circulation, so these efforts have largely faded into history.
The Nexus Q was a complete product failure, but Google wasn’t wrong about the “third wave of consumer electronics,” which would make better use of the cloud to keep all your entertainment (music, movies, TV) handy. We see this everywhere today and now you can add games to the equation. It was a embarrassing mistake, but Google’s $ 299 canceled media player showed that consumers have high expectations for in-room entertainment devices – and even giant technology companies can’t afford to do it alone.
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