As we close in on the end of the year there are two things for Android enthusiasts to look forward to: the inevitable launch of a new Samsung Galaxy Note device, and the release of a new Google Nexus device. Similarly to last year though, there will most likely be two Nexus devices again this time round but unlike last year, HTC is in charge of reeling in the Sailfish and Marlin Nexus phones to our shores.
With months to go before the actual launch, the final specs of the two Nexus devices may be different from the leaked hardware list obtained by Android Police, but as it stands, the hardware specs certainly don’t look too shabby by today’s standards.
The first Nexus device, codenamed Sailfish, is said to be the smaller of the two 2016 Nexus phones. It may pack a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display, a 2GHz quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 2770mAh battery, 12MP rear and 8MP front camera, and a USB Type-C port.
Meanwhile, the bigger “better” version of the two, codenamed Marlin, may feature a larger 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display, a quad-core Qualcomm processor, 4GB of RAM, a larger 3450mAh battery, 32 or 128GB of storage, and the same 12MP/8MP rear and front camera setup.
The Nexus “Marlin” was also spotted on Geekbench which showed the device running on Android N (or Nougat now), 4GB of RAM, and a Qualcomm ARMv8 @1.59 GHz quad core chipset which might further back up the specs provided by Android Police.
It is also highly possible that the Sailfish and Marlin will only vary slightly with one another. They will likely have the same cameras, CPU and RAM but differ in size, screen resolution and battery capacity. Unlike how last year’s Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P differed quite drastically, the Sailfish and Marlin will probably follow suit to how the Sony Xperia Z and Z Compact series differs.
While the specs of these two upcoming devices aren’t exactly jaw-dropping, people are sure to flock at them if the price is right. Nevertheless, nothing is set in stone and we can only wait for official details from Google themselves as the end of the year inches in.
