The Nexus 5 is also a high-end phone that's spec-comparable to the iPhone 5S. For me, and I think a lot of other people, the Nexus brand has come to mean high specs, stock software, future upgrades and low price. Those asking for an iPhone-size Nexus are asking for a device under $400.
I think apple, google and amazon are in a unique position because they can sell hardware at or below cost. These companies have other ways in which to make money off the userbase. Its hard to expect hardware companies to be able to cope with this. What this means in the long term I dont know, but I think its going to become increasingly harder for pure hardware companies to beat ecosystem companies on cost.
