Google Play edition devices are gone, likely forever

We’ve seen the Google Play edition devices disappearing from the Play Store slowly but surely over the last several months. Today the final holdout, the HTC One (M8) Google Play edition, has been giving its pink slip as well.

This hardly comes as a surprise given that, save for the One (M8), the flagship devices of last year were notably missing from the Play edition program. Whether it was the partners or Google that pulled the plug on the program is unknown, but neither side could be blamed given the likely minuscule sales of these devices.

We certainly welcomed the idea when it was first introduced, after all it freed us to look beyond the Nexus line for pure Google software, but the pricing took the wind out of the sails for most buyers. And as many of the manufacturers have gotten less heavy-handed with their Android skins, the need for this program was greatly diminished.

Are you sorry to see the Google Play edition device program go or do you feel it was an idea that had seen its time?

source: androidandme