The upcoming Google Nexus phones – currently known by code names Sailfish and Marlin – have been leaked a fair amount so far. The current rumours are for a pair of HTC built devices that have a gloss plastic rear on the phone, atop what is likely an aluminium unibody. That phone has apparently just been spotted in the wild by a Twitter user.
The phone in the picture has a gloss plastic (maybe glass) back, and similar design styling to the render released by Android Police last month. The rear mounted fingerprint sensor is also clearly visible and even the camera setup seems to match the render.
The Twitter user – @usbfl – describes the phone as ‘a cross between the Nexus 4 & iPhone with glass and fingerprint scanner on the back’ and has only tweeted this one photo, and hasn’t responded to any followup tweets…yet.
The source is right too, with those chamfered edges and that glass on the back (if it is glass and not plastic) it definitely does have some similarities to the Nexus 4.
There’s no scale so we can’t tell what size the phone is, with Google rumoured to be working on a 5″ (Sailfish) and and 5.5″ (Marlin) Nexus with similar specs except for battery and screen size/resolution.
| Sailfish | Marlin | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5″ FHD (1920 x 1080) display @ 440 ppi | 5.5″ QHD (2560×1440) AMOLED display @ 534 ppi |
| Processor | Quad-core 2.0GHz 64-bit processor | Quad-core Qualcomm processor |
| RAM | ||
| Storage | 32GB | 32/128GB |
| Camera: | ||
| Bluetooth | ||
| Fingerprint scanner | ||
| Port | ||
| Battery | 2,770 mAh | 3,450 mAh |
| Speakers | ||
| Android | ||
Is this one of the 2016 Nexus phones? Looks like it to us anyway.
Isn’t Quad Core processors a step backwards considering the technology available?
Not necessarily. It’s like megapixels in cameras – one variable doesn’t determine the overall performance of an extremely complex bit of hardware.
Thanks for the insight, mate. I suppose having an Octa Core Processor will give performance gains but with performance gain come lower battery life. So a Quad Core might just be a small compromise on performance for a gain in battery life.
The biggest question I have, given the state of my cracked Nexus 5, is whether I should just buy a 6P today. They are now under $600 which is a silly price for a great phone. Still slightly tempted by the G5 though, if only for the camera.
Marlin is not like this mock-up right? This is too ugly
Marlin should have a metal body, similar to the HTC 10.
But I read a lot of articles and said the two Nexus will have the same design. I really hope you are right but we only see that mock-up once and all others are this ugly one.
I agree, it’s very ugly and bulky too
I hope they have a trick left up their sleeve. Like they can run a new VR headset or something. Because, while it’s a nice looking phone, it’s not really getting me excited.
I would be massively surprised if they weren’t the first official supported Google Daydream devices.
Hang on, bottom firing speakers? Nope.
Please not glass on the back…. Please, don’t do that to me.
2 cracked Nexus 4 rears later…I hear you.
I must be one of the lucky ones, my Nexus 4 is still in excellent condition. I’m really starting to like the look of the Nexus phones, can’t wait!
I’m with Jamie, my N4 still looks great.
I cracked my N4 back, and my [plural of Xperia here] were slippery little suckers, but I still love a glass back regardless.