Is Google killing off its Play editions to make way for Android Silver?

Sony Xperia
What's going on, G?

Google's up to something fishy at the moment - and the disappearance of some Google Play edition devices from its store is only adding to our suspicion.

The HTC One M7, Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, and LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play editions all showed up as out of stock for a long period of time, and now Google has taken three of them off the Play Store entirely.

Android Police has spotted that the Z Ultra, G Pad and M7 have all vanished - so what's going on? We've asked Google for an explanation but one likely answer seems to be Android Silver.

Silver fish(y)

Silver is said to be an initiative that will see Google working more closely with top manufacturers to create Android phones to match particularly premium specifications.

Specifications that, if met, will mean the phone or tablet can be sold as an 'Android Silver' device.

But with rumours suggesting a Silver launch in 2015, and confirmation that we'll still get a new Nexus this year, the removal of the Google Play edition devices seems a tad premature. And we're still waiting on that Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Play edition...

Of course, if you're in the UK then this won't affect you so much given that Play editions haven't made it to British shores yet. But we reckon Android Silver might be more of a global affair.

TOPICS
Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.

Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.

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