Google's Nexus phones are going to get better - but Google still won't make them itself

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says that its next generation of Nexus phones is going to get better.

"We are investing more effort into them," Pichai said on stage at Vox Media's Code Conference. "We're going to put a lot more thought into our Nexus devices going forward."

Google has always partnered with outside manufacturers like LG and Huawei. And that's not changing. Pichai promised that it's going to continue to work with manufacturers instead of making its own Nexus phones.

So, if it's not taking manufacturing in-house, how exactly might Nexus phones change if Google's putting more thought into them?

"Today, when we ship Nexus phones we ship stock Android - you'll see us add more features on top of Android on Nexus phones," he said. "We could be more opinionated on the design of the phones, even if we're working with OEMs to make them."

Earlier this year, Google hired its first designated hardware exec, Rick Osterloh.