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Google Nexus 2016 Release Date, Specs, Update: Android Nougat On Nexus ‘Marlin’, ‘Salifish’ Confirmed?

Megha Kedia
First Posted: Jul 24, 2016 03:52 AM EDT

While there's still no single word from Google about a possible Nexus 2016 release date, rumors about the specs, features and price of the upcoming Google Nexus 2016 flagships codenamed "Marlin" and "Sailfish" have been hitting the web for quite some time now.

Recently, Techdroider posted a picture of the HTC-made Marlin which the publication claims is the first real picture of the Nexus smartphone.

The picture shows the handset screen which mentions it's running Google latest mobile OS Android Nougat with the latest July security patch. As the picture only shows the handset's front face, the actual design of the HTC "Marlin" still remains a big mystery.

According to reports, Google is expected to release its next gen Nexus 2016 smartphones as early as next month alongside the Android 7.0 Nougat. The search giant has recently rolled out the latest beta version of Android N, dubbed Developer Preview 5.

Previous reports suggest Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is manufacturing the highly popular line of Google Nexus 2016 smartphones including a 5-inch device codenamed "Sailfish" and a 5.5-inch phablet known as "Marlin." There are also reports which claim that Huawei is developing a third Nexus smartphone.

As far as specs are concerned, both the Google Nexus 2016 handsets are expected to come powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 821 processor and feature the same 4GB of RAM. There will a 12-megapixel main camera enabled with LED flash and an 8-megapixel front facing camera on board.

Overall specs of the two handsets are expected to be the same except for their display size and battery capacity. Nexus Marlin is rumored to come backed by a massive 3450mAh battery, while its sibling Nexus Sailfish is expected to get a 2770mAh battery.

Other rumored specs include a rear panel fingerprint scanner, a USB Type-C port, bottom facing speakers, a top mounted headphone jack and Bluetooth 4.2

Readers are requested to take the information with a grain of salt as Google has not confirmed anything its upcoming Nexus 2016 handsets.

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