Google Nexus 2016 release date, specs rumors: Google smartphones to arrive next month?

Last year's Nexus smartphonesGoogle Official Website

Google has remained tight-lipped with its Nexus 2016 smartphones. Several reports suggest that the company will be dropping the Nexus branding and will instead call the new flagship as Pixel handsets. The previously called Sailfish will now be known as simply Pixel while the device called Marlin will now be called Pixel XL. Both phones are rumored to be unveiled next month, and pre-orders will be immediately available.

Trusted Reviews reported that the search engine giant will soon announce and send out invites to a media event that will happen on Oct. 4, and Australian-based carrier, Telstra, is said to start offering immediately pre-orders for the phones, which will then be released on Oct. 20. It is also speculated that U.S. residents will also have the same option, while the U.K. will follow at a different date.

The Google Pixel is speculated to be the smaller of the two devices and is said to have 5-inch Full HD display. It will be powered Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, paired with 3 GB of RAM, and could come with a 2,770 mAh battery. The Pixel XL will be bigger, with a 5.5-inch screen, but will have a better display resolution, a Quad HD display. The 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon 821 SoC processor will be with the device along with 4GB of RAM. It is also rumored to offer 32 and 128 GB internal storage variants, a 13-MP rear camera, and an 8 MP front-facing snapper. A 3,450 mAh battery will also come with the device. Out of the box, both handsets Is said to run on Android 7.0 or Android 7.1 Nougat and will be manufactured by HTC.

A $449 price is speculated for the Pixel, while the Pixel XL, will have a $649 price tag, but it still remains unclear if these prices will be for a 32 GB variant or for the 128 GB variant.

Meanwhile, Android Headlines reported that the front panels of the upcoming Pixel/Nexus 2016 devices, including the touch screen, have been spotted on the Canadian eBay website. A certain Oneby_tech was selling the said parts.

In the meantime, Google has not issued any formal announcement with regards to these devices or to the rumored media event.