As expected, Google will unveil its new Nexus devices next month. Although there is no official confirmation from the company, several reports have highlighted two handsets, codenamed Sailfish and Marlin, which will be manufactured by HTC. Apart from the detailed specs that had already been reported, a new report by Android Police revealed leaked pictures of the less-premium model out of the two devices, Nexus Sailfish.
Last year, Nexus 5X and 6P were released as successors of the Nexus 5 and 6, respectively. The search giant is expected to continue this strategy; reportedly, Sailfish will replace 5X, whereas Marlin will be 6P’s replacement. This means that build and screen size of the new handsets will be similar to their predecessors.
Sailfish, as stated in the reports, will sport a 5-inch screen instead of a 5.2-inch featured on Nexus 5X. Earlier reports claimed that this device will also be carved out of the same polycarbonate material, which was used on its predecessor. However, the recently leaked pictures contradict these reports. It seems that the device has a metal and glass body, which makes it look better than Nexus 5X or even Nexus 5.
In terms of thickness, it doesn’t seem as thin as Samsung’s S7 Edge or Apple’s iPhone 6s, but is neither as bulky as LG’s latest G5. It has a finger print scanner on the back, just like its predecessor did. The color appears to be two-tone, black and gray, which we believe makes it look more attractive. The rear camera has been shifted to the left-side, and the size of the lens has also been reduced. Interestingly, there is an antenna line at the rear bottom, just like on Apple’s iPhone.
The front side of Sailfish does not have any physical buttons, just like the previous iterations. However, the width of the screen seems to be altered, possibly to make the device fit more comfortably in a user’s palm. Nexus devices, especially the 5-inch models, have always packed in impressive components. The design and build have never been very impressive, but it seems this too is about to change with the launch of Sailfish. Google has put in more effort on the aesthetics of the device and the specs in order to attract more customers.
The hardware that will power Sailfish was also leaked through a GeekBench spec sheet. It showed that this device will feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 820 chipset backed by 4GB RAM and 32GB storage. There were no details about added features but the report claimed that battery capacity will be improved, which will allow the device to easily last throughout the day.
The biggest catch of both these devices will be the latest operating system (OS), Android 7.0 Nougat. Other than the new features in this OS, like mutli-tasking, improved doze and detailed notifications, there are some exclusive features for Sailfish and Marlin like Google’s latest VR platform, DayDream.