With just about every other Nexus, Google has sold the smartphones through carriers. Even if it was just one carrier. With the Nexus 6 being available at all four carriers, the Nexus 5 for T-Mobile and Sprint and the Nexus 4 at T-Mobile only. But it appears that this time around it’ll be available online only, and not available in any of the carrier stores. Now one reason for this could be that carriers typically charge a different price for the Nexus smartphones compared to Google. So this way everyone’s paying the same amount. But another reason could be the staggered release. AT&T and Verizon were really slow at releasing the Nexus 6 last year, with Verizon not releasing it until 2015. This could also be a way to push out updates to the new Nexus smartphones without messing with the carriers.
Now the big question here is whether it will be available through Amazon and Best Buy’s online stores, as the Nexus typically is available through both of those stores. Currently there’s no word on that. However, Amazon India did list the LG Nexus 5X. But as always that could be for India only, and in the US it could be just the Google Store. Which Google has been promoting as their one-stop store for everything Google. With the latest Android Wear smartwatches, Chromebooks, Android TV and Nexus devices all being available through the store.
The rumored price for the Nexus 5X is set at $379, still nothing on the Nexus 6P though. That will likely surface soon though. However we should learn all about that tomorrow in San Francisco. With the Nexus 6P being available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB, it’s probably a good idea to only sell these through online stores. Seeing as most carriers will opt to only stock the 32GB version and a few 64GB versions, without any 128GB versions. This way those that actually want the 128GB Nexus 6P can get it without any hassle. Remember both the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X will work with all four carriers, so you just need to pop your SIM inside and start using it. Additionally it’ll also work with Google’s Project Fi (which uses Sprint and T-Mobile’s network).