Here's what the Huawei Nexus phone may look like
Last week, images of the new LG Nexus appeared online and this week it's time for the Huawei Nexus handset to break cover.
French site NowhereElse.Fr published alleged pictures of Huawei's Nexus, showing a 5.7-inch display and round fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone, similar to what's expected on the LG model.
Google typically works with a single hardware partner for the yearly Nexus handset.
This year, however, it's reportedly taking a different approach; one that I think is much smarter. Instead of debuting one single phone to showcase the latest Android software -- this year's version, Android 6.0, will be called Marshmallow -- the company will likely offer a pair of Nexus phones, providing customers a choice in screen sizes.
Huawei's model will be the larger of the two if reports are accurate: Expect a 5.7-inch high resolution display compared to the 5.2-inch screen on the LG Nexus. While what we've seen from the LG Nexus is a smooth, rounded back case, images of Huawei's Nexus show a bumped out area for the phone's camera and flash module.
Aside from that design difference and the varied screen sizes, I'd expect Google's hardware partners to use the same internal components on both handsets.
Both should have at least 3 GB of memory, for example, and use 2540 x 1440 resolution displays. It's possible that the Huawei model could add a depth sensor near the camera to assist with blurred camera effects or 3-D mapping, although it's difficult to tell from the leaked images. Phandroid reports the Huawei Nexus to use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip, 4 GB of memory, a USB Type-C port and up to 64 GB of internal storage.
Neither handset should be as tough a sell as last year's Nexus 6, depending on the price. By offering a single model with a large 6-inch display in 2014, Google limited the potential audience for the phone because not everyone wants to carry such a large handset.
My other hope to help boost Nexus sales this year is the addition of Project Fi support.
I've used Google's tri-network phone service for the past several weeks and found it to work fantastic. I can start a call on a Wi-Fi network and have it seamlessly transition to either T-Mobile or Sprint when out of Wi-Fi range. Unfortunately, for now, Project Fi is only supported on the Nexus 6.
Look for both Nexus phones to debut in October to coincide with the official release of Android 6.0.