Rumor: Google will pay manufacturers for phones without bloatware

Google is rumored to be paying phone manufacturers to deliver phones without too much bloatware and with a consistent user experience. The so-called Silver program should replace the Nexus line of phones.

The rumor that Google wants to stop the Nexus line has been circulating for some time and according to pay site The Information, the Nexus devices are being replaced by Silver devices. Google would pay phone manufacturers to keep their phones free of bloatware or allow users to uninstall non-Google bundled apps.

Also, phone manufacturers should promise to quickly provide Android updates to users and provide a consistent user experience. Whether that means that manufacturers are not allowed to put their own skin over Android is unclear. At the moment, the Nexus devices that are released under the Google flag and the original Android interface offer an exception: most manufacturers have developed their own user interface for Android.

LG and Motorola, among others, would be interested, with the first Silver phones already coming next year. Samsung, HTC and Sony would be a little less easy to convince. Previously, Samsung and HTC released Nexus devices, and like Sony, they also released Google Play editions of their phones, without bloatware and their own interface.