Nexus 4 is no longer sold on Google Play

The Google Nexus 5 has finally arrived yesterday, on the very day of Halloween, but what some of you might not have realized is that along with its appearance on the Google Play store, last year’s Nexus 4 has disappeared. Google has first cut the price of the Nexus 4 down to $199 for the basic model in anticipation of the Nexus 5, and now it has effectively discontinued the Nexus 4. We have checked the U.S., U.K., German and French Play stores to confirm and all of them list the devices as 'no longer available for sale.'

This is not much of a surprise, but it is telling for the way Google handles its launches. We have already seen this with the Nexus 7 2013 edition launch as the tablet replaced the 2012 edition. You can still find Google’s last year’s 7-incher at third party retailers that still have stock, but the official Google Play store is not selling the device.

We are seeing the same story repeat itself with the Nexus 5 and 4. You’d probably still be able to find the Nexus 4 at third-party retailers, but not on Google Play and that means you probably won’t be able to capitalize on that alluring $199 sale offer.

This sales model comes in stark contrast with what Apple is doing. The Cupertino-based company usually continues selling its last year’s model at a discounted price.

With all this in mind, we are seeing a pattern and we would expect the same thing to happen for future Google devices sold on the Play store. As soon as the new one appears, expect the old one to be gone.

source: Google Play devices