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Nexus Studio Event: how Google’s 5X and 6P were created and more

Abner Li Dec 14 2015 - 10:39 am PT

[Ed. Note: This is a rewrite of the original post which was the result of a miscommunication between editor and writer on coverage of an excellent Reddit writeup of an event. Apologies for the mistake]

Last week, Google hosted a Nexus Studio event open to the public in New York City. For three days, many teams that helped build the latest generation of Nexus phones were on hand giving talks and answering questions about the Nexus 5X and 6P. These included representatives from the Nexus industrial design, hardware, and engineering teams, Nexus software product managers, and the Android UX design team, among many others.

One Reddit user wrote up a very detailed post about all the things he learned from the “super friendly and surprisingly open” Google employees on hand. Below is a summary of the interesting information gleamed from numerous talks…

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Google’s holiday gift to employees is a Nexus 5X, but how about Alphabet employees?

Abner Li Dec 13 2015 - 6:38 am PT

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As made evident by their annual Santa Tracker and various Doodles, Google is a festive company during holidays. This whimsy extends to their employees who are receiving a Nexus 5X as a holiday gift this year…

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Management material? This 23-year old Google employee sleeps in a 128 sq ft truck in the parking lot

Jordan Kahn Oct 20 2015 - 9:50 am PT

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Business Insider profiled 23-year-old Googler Brandon S. who decided to forgo the usual high-priced San Francisco apartment and instead move into the back of a 128 square foot truck in the company’s parking lot.

The idea started to formulate while Brandon — who asked to withhold his last name and photo to maintain his privacy on campus — was interning at Google last summer and living in the cheapest corporate housing offered: two bedrooms and four people for about $65 a night (roughly $2,000 a month), he explains to Business Insider.

He didn’t do much to pimp out the back of the $10,000, 16FT Ford truck with a modest setup consisting mostly of a bed and storage (and no power), but it has enabled Brandon to save around 90% of his income, while Google and security apparently have no issues with the living arrangements:

“I don’t actually own anything that needs to be plugged in,” he explains on his blog. “The truck has a few built-in overhead lights, and I have a motion-sensitive, battery-powered lamp I use at night. I have a small battery pack that I charge up at work every few days, and I use that to charge my headphones and cell phone at night. My work laptop will last the night on a charge, and then I charge it at work.”

Here’s a look at the inside of the truck: