Nexus 6 Release Date, Specs, and Rumors Round-up

Nexus 6 Release Date, Specs, and Rumors Round-up

The Nexus 6 release date is right around the corner, therefore we though it’s about time to look at all the previous rumors and see what we should expect from the new smartphone. Even though it was rumored early this year that the Nexus devices will be ditched and replaced by a new program called Android Silver, now we are sure that we will be getting two new Nexus devices later this year. Furthermore, a Google representative officially dismissed the rumors that said the Nexus program is dead soon after I/O 2014 conference in June.

If you are up to date with the latest news, then you may probably know that the terminal will be manufactured by Motorola and that it’s codenamed Shamu. The codename aligns with the previous ones used by Google for their Nexus devices, as the Mountain View-based company has a preference for marine animals.

We heard a lot of Nexus 6 rumors over the past couple of months, especially  about the hardware platform of the new device. It was initially reported that it will have a 5.9-inch screen, then we’ve heard some rumors about a 5.2-inch screen. It seems that, after all the device will have a massive 5.9-inch screen with Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution. It’s not clear yet what technology will be used for the screen, but Motorola’s latest flagships have all used AMOLED panels.

We’ve even seen some alleged photos of the Nexus 6. First we saw iton September 26 pictured next to an LG G3, then, a couple of days later, another Nexus 6 photo surfaced online showing the “About phone” page. The clearest Nexus 6 spy shots yet, emerged earlier this week, when the device was spotted while being used in public transportation. These leaked photos allowed us to see that, because of the phone’s size, both the volume and power keys have are located farther down on the sides for better ergonomics. It also features two front-facing stereo speakers.

If the latest reports are to be believed, the the Motorola-made Nexus smartphone will come with beastly specifications. Besides the Quad HD screen, the terminal also comes with 32 GB of internal storage, 3 GB of RAM, 13 MP primary camera with optical image stabilization, dual-LED flash, and 4K video recording support, and a 2 MP secondary shooter. It looks like the device will be kept alive by a 3,200 battery compatible with Motorola’s turbo charger which promises 8 hours of autonomy after only 15 minutes of charging.

Even though Android L is the first Android version to offer native support for 64-bit processors, the Nexus 6 will come with a 32-bit chipset. All sources seem to agree about the processor of the device: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC based on four Krait 450 cores clocked at 2.7 GHz and an Adreno 420 GPU.

We’ve also seen a lot of reports regarding the Nexus 6 release date. Without a doubt, both the Nexus 6 and the Nexus 9 HTC-made tablet will run Android L out of the box and both will debut in the same time. Mid-September, respected member of the Android communitytweeted, quoting an anonymous tipster, that “the HTC Nexus 9 will be launched on October 16.” Other sources reported about a week later that both devices will be announced “mid-October,” but that Android L will not be released for the public earlier than November 1st. Yesterday, HTC President of North Asia Jack Tong confirmed the existence of the Nexus 9 for Focus Taiwan. Even though he didn’t mention anything about its release date, the Taiwanese outlet wrote that both Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 will be launched October 16.

With all these being said, expect the Nexus 6 too see the light of day in the next few days, even though Google traditionally launched Nexus smartphones around Halloween. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s mid-October or late-October. We’ve waited for a Nexus hardware for almost a year, so two weeks won’t really matter anymore.