It seems as if it was only last week that Google announced the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P in San Francisco, and even more recent that pre-orders opened in Australia, but that’s not quite the case. The Google Store started taking pre-orders for these handsets just before noon on Monday last week, and in that time, it’s likely that countless orders have been placed for the new handset.
Sadly, though, it seems that very few of those orders have actually shipped. We’ve been inundated with feedback on our site and via social media with reports that people are desperately waiting for their handsets to ship, even though customers who’ve only decided to buy in the last day or two are walking into carrier stores, as well as Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi stores and walking out with brand-new Nexus handsets.
Many who pre-ordered on the first day are growing increasingly upset with Google’s apparently delay in shipping the devices. Some of the comments we’ve seen include:
- “What’s wrong with Google? My device still hasn’t been shipped, and retailers already sell it. Really hate Google.”
- “No update yet on mine from Google Play – 64GB graphite. 🙁 Yet you can go into JB Hi-Fi and purchase it from today … “
- “I really hope they have shipped it by now, it just hasn’t updated on the site. All seriousness though, Google should have shipped this stuff a week ago so we got them on time. When it comes to this stuff, Google is actually pathetic.”
It’s not just the Ausdroid readers who are getting upset. Noted Australian Android developer Chris Lacy has taken to Twitter to express his displeasure:
6Ps are at retail stores in Aus today. I ordered on Google Store 1 min. after it went live, still haven't got a shipping confirmation email.
— Chris Lacy (@chrismlacy) November 3, 2015
Unlike years past when pre-order customers were amongst the first to receive their new Nexus handsets, it seems this year that pre-ordering really wasn’t the best way to get hands on with a new Nexus. All the major carriers – Telstra, Optus (incl. Virgin Mobile) and Vodafone – are selling handsets, today, in stores, as are JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman — we’re receiving reports from satisfied new Nexus owners every hour via social media and through comments on our site.
While very few users are reporting that their new Nexuses have shipped from Google, most are still showing as order processing … no signs of movement towards getting their phones shipped and delivered. Why, Google, aren’t you shipping phones to your most dedicated (pre-order) customers earlier than this?
We’ve written to Google to ask what’s going on in the supply chain leading to these delays, and we’ll let you know what we hear back.
