While the likes of Samsung and Apple have become largely predictable with their smartphone updates, it's far harder to pinpoint just where, and in what form, Google's Nexus brand will appear. Typically, a new Nexus device comes along with the launch of a major update to the Android operating system, as a chance for Google to demonstrate what the new features do. For many, the Nexus is also the only way to get a clean, vanilla installation of Android. With the launch of the Nexus 6 last year, the question is what kind of smartphone will it release?
That's not the only question: over the years, almost every major manufacturer has had a punt at a Google handset, including HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung; so, who will be making the Nexus 2015 phone and what can we expect from it?
We're unlikely to learn much from the last Nexus, as it was a bit of an oddity and a bit of disappointment. The Nexus 6 was a phablet from Motorola, an odd choice given that the Nexus line only produces a single handset a year, so if you weren't in the market for a phablet then you were out of luck. In addition, Google's Android 5.0 OS didn't include any phablet-specific features such as those on the Samsung Galaxy Note series. And worse of all, it simply wasn't cheap like previous handsets.
The most successful Nexus handset to date has been the Nexus 5, from LG. It really impressed us, and many of you, with its flagship specification at an impressively low price. And it's that handset, along with its predecessor the Nexus 4 (also from LG), that many are hoping forms the basis of the Nexus 2015 smartphone.
We don't yet have any leaked images of the Nexus 2015, as it's unlikely to actually exist except for maybe some early 3D printed prototypes, and images only usually appear alongside early manufacturing test runs. The image at the top of the page comes from a Google video for its new Project Fi data network. It may only be a render of a very smart-looking phone, but it's strange Google didn't use the Nexus 6 in its place, as it's the only handset currently supported by Project Fi.
NEXUS 2015 - MANUFACTURER
The most recent rumours have earmarked both LG and Huawei to be developing Nexus products for Google. A report from a Weibo user (Weibo is a Chinese micro-blogging site, a bit like Twitter) in China suggests that LG will produce a high-end handset while a Chinese company (possibly using its own chipset) will produce a cheaper version. That points to Huawei, as it's one of the few companies to have its own chipset lineup.
NEXUS 2015 - RELEASE DATE
This is a pretty easy one. The last four Nexus-branded smartphones have all been announced and launched in late October or early November. We'd be amazed if the Nexus 2015 didn't follow the same pattern given that leaks about the phone provenance have only just started to appear. If you're just finishing up your contract now, then switch a to a SIM-only deal now, and pick up the new phone later in the year, in order to minimise your costs – see SIM only vs contract - are you paying too much for your smartphone?
Before an actual release we're likely to get an announcement of a new version of Android from Google in the summer, probably in the form of Android 5.2, but we might start hearing about Android 6 M. Either way, the new handset will likely be launched with the new version of Android toward the end of the year.
NEXUS 2015 - SPECS
If indeed LG are to be responsible for one of the Nexus handsets then it may well follow closely in the footsteps of the recently released LG G4. That would almost certainly mean a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset (as was used in the Nexus 5 too), undoubtedly a 64-bit chipset and most likely the same 6-core Snapdragon 808 in the G4 – especially if Google is keen to keep the price down as we suspect, instead of using a full-bore 8-core chipset. We also hope to see the G4's spectrum colour sensor built-in.
The display will, of course, vary depending on size. A 5.5in handset will most likely use a 2,560x1,440 resolution, but again if price is paramount then a slightly smaller display might happily fall back on a Full HD resolution instead.
If there's a second, Chinese-made handset, then its specifications are even harder to guess at. It might resemble something close to the Huawei P8 with its Kirin chipset and super-slim design, but given it would be partly defined by having to be a cheaper option to the LG handset it's anyone's guess.
NEXUS 2015 - NAME
Google is simply running out of numbers, and unless it does something very unusual it simply can't name the new handset after its screen size or reuse an existing device number, especially as Nexus 7 is so attached in consumer's minds to the tablet line up. It could of course simply release a new Nexus 5 and new Nexus 6, as it has reused numbers before on the Nexus 7 line. However we think it might add point numbers, Nexus 5.1, or possibly letters into the mix, Nexus 5S is unlikely but Nexus 5G could work well.
NEXUS 2015 - PRICE
It's impossible to say anything about the price until we know exactly what kind of device we're talking about. However, it's worth noting that Google CFO Patrick Pichette said in an earnings statement at the beginning of the year that the growth of the Play Store overall had been "offset by a decline in Nexus".
It's obvious from this that the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, which were both priced close to Apple's products, simply didn't generate the same revenue that the lower-priced Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 devices did. Based on that, we're hoping that Google reigns in the specifications somewhat and produces a Nexus 2015 phone that provides great value for money. If it can hit the magic £300 mark then that's a good starting point for a new Nexus.
