[mirkules]

You joke, but I am really confused what is the "official" Google phone and what is not.

First, there was the Nexus One by HTC, then Nexus S by Samsung, then Galaxy Nexus by Samsung (how is that different than Galaxy S* series?), a bunch in between that were no less confusing, and now there's a Pixel.

The Nexus branding seems to have been tied to the manufacturer, which only added to my confusion. I just want to know what is the Google sanctioned phone.

So yes, they didn't do a very good job at marketing their brand and setting it apart from the "clones".

[detaro]

The Nexus always were partnerships with manufacturers, but as far as I know everything that was called Nexus was an iteration of "the Google sanctioned phone"

[PhasmaFelis]

I think the unifying feature of the Nexus line was that they all ran stock Android, or close to it. The Galaxy Nexus did, anyway.

[Yizahi]

Pixel by HTC