Google confirms the Nexus 5 is no more

Farewell, Nexus 5. Photo: Google

Farewell, Nexus 5. Photo: Google

When Google launched its new online store just for devices on Wednesday, the Nexus 5 was dropped from its lineup. Now the search giant has confirmed that the handset has been discontinued, 17 months after it made its initial debut, and that its partners will sell remaining stock.

We’ve been waiting for the Nexus 5 to get the chop since the Nexus 6 arrived last November, but Google continued to sell it through the Play Store right up until Wednesday. The company even disputed a late 2014 report that claimed the device wouldn’t return once stocks had been depleted.

The Nexus 5 was one of Google’s most popular smartphones. It combined impressive specifications with an attractive design, an affordable price tag, and, of course, the latest Android software. For the past four months, it’s been a cheaper and more compact alternative to the Nexus 6 — but not anymore.

“While some inventory of Nexus 5 still exists (with our retail and carrier partners), our focus is on the Nexus 6 at this time,” a Google spokesperson told The Verge.

The Nexus 5 will long be available secondhand from sites like Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist, but if you want to get your hands on a brand new handset, you’ll need to act fast; once those carriers and retailers have sold their existing stock, it seems they won’t be getting anymore.