Google's meticulously planned transition from the Android N to the Android Nougat naming scheme isn't going unaccompanied by unplanned new Nexus 2016 news.
The internal specs for these next two Android phones has been leaked, and they're both shaping up to be promising sequels to the current Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X, according to Android Police.
As we have reported on in the past, HTC is making both handsets this year, but we finally have a clearer idea of the power being put into the larger Android Nougat smartphone, codenamed HTC "Marlin."
The phone's 5.5-inch screen will be a pixel-dense Quad HD AMOLED display and, at its core, it'll have a quad-core Qualcomm processor, 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 128GB of internal storage.
What's really new here
With an identical 12MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, 3,450mAh battery capacity, USB Type-C port and rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, it sounds like a simple CPU and RAM specs upgrade from the Nexus 6P.
But what's exciting is the unknown Qualcomm chip: It could be a Snapdragon 820, or the 821 or 832, both of which have yet to debut in a smartphone. It'll rival the blazingly fast Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge (which have Samsung's Exynos processors outside of the US and China).
The unusually narrow 32GB and 128GB storage options hopefully mean the higher capacity is at a fair price. Image if Google subtly mocks Apple's "gracious" move of getting rid of 32GB.
Only, Google would be axing 64GB. Meanwhile, Apple is very likely to finally kill off 16GB in the year 2016, but reintroduce 32GB with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. It'd be a stark contrast.
Don't expect a underpowered Nexus 5X
The Nexus 5X was a solid phone for its price and it very briefly appeared on our coveted best phones list, but its specs and performance couldn't hold a candle to the Nexus 6P and the other best Android phones.
That won't happen again, judging from the rumored specs of the smaller, HTC-built "Sailfish." It's similar 5-inch display sound just as hand-friendly as before, though it may end up using a 1080p AMOLED panel.
It's said to have a quad-core 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB RAM and at least start with of 32GB storage. A 2,770mAh battery is onboard, which may be okay for the smaller screen.
Everything else is said to be the same as the 5.5-inch Nexus 2016: a 12MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, rear fingerprint sensor and a USB-C port.
The 1080p display isn't that big of a deal; it's the full processor specs that I want to find out about in order to really judge the upcoming smaller Nexus. That's where the Nexus 5X failed in longevity as my daily driver, even if it's still an awesome phone for the unlocked price.
With Android Nougat due out in late summer, we expect these Nexus 2016 phone rumors to become an almost daily occurrence, so stay tuned for more updates about the new hardware.
- Next phones: Moto Z and Moto Z Force, followed by Samsung Galaxy Note 7
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