RIP: Nexus Player discontinued and removed from the Google Store

The Nexus Player is the latest product to be removed from the Google Store and was the remaining device from the 2014 Nexus lineup that included the Nexus 6 and 9. In a statement to The Verge, Google says the Android TV set top box is still available from some retailers.

Co-developed with Asus, the Nexus Player was the first device to run Android TV and one of the first devices to run Marshmallow. The box used a quad-core Intel Atom chip with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. A small included remote had a simple D-Pad and a microphone to give voice commands. Google also sold a traditional game controller to play Android games.

The most notable Android TV set top box now is the NVIDIA Shield TV that supports 4K streaming and is heavily geared towards gaming. At Google I/O last week, Xiaomi announced they were making a small Android TV box that also features 4K streaming. Partners like Sony have gone all in with Android TV to power their smart televisions with more sets coming this year.

Android N introduced a picture-in-picture mode that allows users to do other tasks while watching TV. Google has also announced that more cable apps are coming to existing Android TV devices.