Thursday, 28 May 2015

[Updated] [Rumor] No Nexus Tablet In 2015, But Two Phones—A 5.2-Inch LG (Code Name Bullhead) And A 5.7-Inch Huawei (Code Name Angler)

The Nexus 6 was a break from the past for the Nexus program with its high price tag and massive size, but it was probably an emergency replacement after the collapse of Android Silver. We've been wondering if Google would recommit to the Nexus program, and it's sounding like yes—in a big way. We've gotten some details on two alleged Nexus phones for 2015, but there are currently no plans for a tablet.

Disclaimer: No matter the confidence level, there's always a chance product updates, features, and some or all details will be changed or cancelled altogether. As with all rumors, nothing is 100% until it's officially announced
Confidence Level

We're rating the confidence level of the phone aspect of this rumor at a 7 out of 10. The source is reliable, and we believe the information to accurately represent the state of things in the very recent past. The specs on the phones are still tentative in the information we've received, though. They're probably further along now and things might have changed. The tablet rumor we're putting at an 8 out of 10. It's almost certain.

The Rumor

This would be the first time Google has released two Nexus phones in one year, but this is apparently the plan. We don't have the full specs, but we've got some tentative ones.


The LG Bullhead (remember, sea creature code names) will have a 5.2-inch screen and a battery in the neighborhood of 2700mAh. The capacity is not completely decided, but neither is the ARM chip. LG is currently planning on a Snapdragon 808 in this device. That's the same hexa-core chip used in the LG G4. Bullhead would basically be the 2015 Nexus 5 everyone has been begging for.

The Huawei Angler will apparently be a somewhat more hefty device with a 5.7-inch screen. For better or worse, the information we have says Huawei plans to use a Snapdragon 810 in this Nexus. Again, that might change before release, or maybe it'll be fine with the additional time to tweak performance. The battery capacity in Angler is said to be 3500mAh. This is more or less a 2015 Nexus 6, but with a slightly more manageable form factor. Both phones should be out in the usual Nexus time frame around October.

It also sounds like the Nexus 9 will be Google's flagship tablet for another cycle. The information we have on this is from just a few weeks ago in April, and says no Nexus tablet is in the works. That makes it unlikely we'll see one this time around.


Code names flipped

It looks like we got the code names backwards for the Nexus phones. The smaller LG phone is Bullhead and the Huawei is Angler. There's a comment in AOSP that seems to confirm Bullhead is an LG device (thanks, Kaushik). Everything else is unchanged.

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