Google Nexus 2016 news: Rebranded Nexus, Google Pixel, and Pixel XL rumored specs detailed

Last year's Nexus smartphonesGoogle Official Website

As the rumored release date for Google's latest Android smartphones draws near, more and more reports are now coming out of the woodwork regarding their alleged specs and features. Of course, fans won't be seeing the Nexus brand anymore as Google previously revealed that they will no longer be using the moniker, and that they are planning a complete brand overhaul for this year.

The previously dubbed Nexus Sailfish and Nexus Marlin will no longer be sporting the Nexus brand and will reportedly be referred to as the Pixel and the Pixel XL. The two smartphones will still be the successors to last year's Nexus device, namely the Huawei-made Google Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P.

Some reports have also revealed that all Nexus branding on the phones will be absent and will be replaced with a new "Pixel" logo. Aside from the rebranding, all the of the hardware and software that were previously expected will remain the same. The device will reportedly be built by the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, which means that sturdy build quality and a sleek design can be expected.

As for the rumored specs of the new Pixel smartphones, the new Pixel will reportedly be sporting a 5-inch Full HD display with a 1920x1080 pixel resolution. The Pixel XL, on the other hand, will have a large 5.5-inch QHD display with a 2560x1440 pixel resolution. There are however contradicting reports which have theorized that it might be possible for one of the devices to sport a 4K display. However, the speculation is highly unlikely as 4K displays do actually affect the device's overall power consumption.

The Pixel will allegedly come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip paired with 4 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the Pixel XL will sport a slightly faster Snapdragon 821 chip. Both devices are expected to launch this coming Oct. 4 during a big Google press conference.