Nexus 6P sold out in Google Store

The Google Nexus 6P is listed as sold out right now in the US Google Store, and as always we're struck with the age-old question: is the phone really that popular or did Google ask Huawei to keep stock relatively limited until the demand for the device was determined? Given the general reviews of the Nexus 6P (the term "best Android phone" has been tossed around a bit), we're leaning towards the former.

What's interesting about this is that it isn't just one or two models of the Nexus 6P that are sold out, but all variants of color and storage tiers are sold out and pointing users to join a waiting list in order to be notified when the 6P is available again. Google had been pushing back the ship date for new purchases for a while, but there is always a breaking point and rather than give ship dates too far out, Google has opted to simply give the "out of stock" warning. 

Extra bad news is that it is unclear what this might mean for those who still want to buy the device, but may not get a chance to before the October 25th deadline for the limited-time $50 Google Play credit offer. We would hope that Google would offer that to anyone who joins the waiting list before the 25th, but we can't say for sure. 

source: Google Store via Android Police

Google is charging iOS YouTube Red subscribers more to protest Apple's policies

YouTube Red sounds like a pretty solid deal. You basically get Google Play Music All Access for $9.99 and as a bonus, Google is tossing in an ad-free experience on YouTube... at least, that's how it will work for Android users and those on the web. Unfortunately, if you want to get YouTube Red through the iOS app, you'll have to pay a premium.

iOS users will be charged $12.99 rather than the $9.99 fee it would cost for Android, desktop, and mobile Web users. Google said this is because Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all subscription revenue on its platform, and Google is passing that cost directly onto the consumer in order to be able to give content creators the share of the revenue they are due rather than having a portion simply taken by Apple. 

The unclear part of this policy is when users would be charged this amount. Apple would only be taking the cut of the subscription service if the purchase is made in-app and goes through the App Store. In other cases, developers would bump users into Safari in order to purchase a subscription like this, effectively getting around Apple's policy. Similarly, it is unclear if someone who purchases the subscription on the Web (or already has a subscription based on being a Play Music subscriber) would be charged more just to be able to sign in to an iOS device. That seems highly unlikely though. 

We'll have to update you when this gets cleared up, because Google hasn't listed the iOS pricing policy on any official sites yet. 

source: Ars Technica