Nexus 6 2015 release date, price and design rumors

Motorola is out, and Huawei is in, according to the new Nexus 6 2015 rumors that suggest the smartphone is coming with Android Marshmallow onboard very soon.

Yes, even though Google launched a 6-inch phone by Motorola last year and is likely to premier a Nexus 5 2015 built by LG, a new Nexus phablet is being speculated, too.

There's certainly a place for such a large device among people who were willing to get used to carrying a Nexus with two hands. It had a niche audience with meaty paws.

Here's what we know, based on the rumors of a specs bump, new design features and a better price, in the weeks ahead of Google's official announcement.

Update: New images have emerged claiming to show off the Nexus 6 2015.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? A Google-branded Android phablet
• When is it out? Likely in September or October 2015
• What will it cost? The same or less than the Nexus 6 2014

Nexus 6 2015 release date

Android Marshmallow is scheduled to debut in Q3 2015, which means the new Nexus 6 may be unveiled alongside Google's operating system update and its Nexus 5 2015 refresh.

It only makes sense for the search engine giant to host one announcement for its phones and the new software that runs on them. The Nexus 6 is big time, but not big enough for its own event.

Of course, we may not actually see the Android phablet in stores until October. There's another phone maker, Apple, hogging up the oxygen with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

Add the fact that the Nexus 6 2014 wasn't announced until mid-October of last year, and you've got yourself a likely late September-early October release date.

Nexus 6 2015 price

Here's the strange thing about Nexus 6's price. The Motorola-made model from a year ago cost $650 (£500, AU$870) at full retail. That really changed the typically low-cost Nexus program.

It made the Nexus 6 just as expensive as rival flagship phones, whereas the Nexus 5 and Nexus 4 before it were affordable considering their higher-end specs at the time.

But you really have to take its size, specs and construction into consideration. At 6 inches, the display was bigger and the aluminum frame far superior to many of last year's phones.

At the same price for more inches than any other major flagship, it was still a good value, and Huawei's rumored 5.7-inch entry could make a similar argument.

Then again, the Chinese phone maker, known for affordable handsets and possibly one with a screen that is 0.26 inches smaller, could be slightly cheaper at $600 (£415, AU$800).

Nexus 6 2015 design

A high-end design could keep the new Nexus 6 price the same as last year's smartphone in part because it's rumored to made of almost all metal.

That's good news for anyone who wants to shed the hard plastic back plate of the Nexus 6 2014 and rubberized plastic chassis of the Nexus 5. This one is likely to go premium.

The Nexus 6 2015 dimensions are said to be 159.4 x 78.3 x 6.6 to 8.5mm curved, according to OnLeaks. That's about the same or slightly smaller at some angles than than Motorola's phablet.

The same design rumors give it a fingerprint sensor on the back, speakers on the front and a USB Type-C connection, which only the OnePlus 2 is sporting at the moment.

Android Marshmallow is pushing fingerprint and USB Type-C compatibility for the first time, so it's a good assumption that Google will want its reference phones to include these features.

A new set of photos claiming to be of the Nexus 6 2015 have also been leaked which show a device similar to the renders above, but with some noticeable additions.

The most noticeable thing about these images with the large protruding top section which houses the camera and flash.

This certainly leads to a rather interesting looking device, while other less charitable people are calling the potential Nexus 6 2015 flat out ugly.

At the moment we don't know if these images are of an early prototype or if the bulge will be part of the final design (but perhaps hidden by a case), so we'll have to put our faith in Huawei's designers for now.

Page 2: display, specs, camera and battery life

Nexus 6 display

Google is allegedly sticking with the name Nexus 6, even though the phone's display may only be 5.7 inches. Rounding up or down is normal among phone naming conventions.

It's a bit smaller than the 5.96-inch Nexus 6 2014, but rumored to be the same resolution: 2560 x 1440 pixels. That would pack in more pixels per inch thanks to its smaller display size.

The technology behind this quad HD display will be WQHD AMOLED, according to sources talking to GizmoChina. That keeps it consistent with last year's model.

No word on the Nexus 6's Ambient Light feature returning to partially turn on the screen when the phone is picked up. It was always inferior to Motorola's Active Display and LG's knock-to-wake methods, so it won't be missed all that much.

Nexus 6 2015 specs

It's going to be a powerful new Nexus 6 if the loftier rumors are true about its processor. There's a Snapdragon 820 processor at the heart of this phone, according to OnLeaks.

This could be the first Android to beat current benchmark test leaders, Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+. Samsung's own Exynos 7420 chip mightily powers them all.

There's also a chance Huawei could utilize Qualcomm's other processor, the Snapdragon 810. But that CPU gets slow and hot under pressure. Just ask any LG G Flex 2 or ZTE Axon owner.

Whatever System-on-a-Chip the Nexus 6 2015 ends up with, expect there to be 4GB of RAM backing it all up. That's how much memory is rumored for the Nexus 5 2015, so it's only logical.

Whether or not we get anything more than 32GB and 64GB of internal storage is a rumor that we haven't really seen pop up. Without a 128GB size, space is going to be limited for some.

Yes, Google is making microSD usage easier with Android Marshmallow, but Nexus phones have routinely spurned the expandable storage format.

Nexus 6 2015 camera

The new Nexus 6 camera is going to be big, too, at least when you consider all of the pixels it's able to capture.

It'll boast a 21MP rear camera, according to OnLeaks and GizmoChina, and pack in the Sony IMX230 sensor. That's the same sensor in the Moto X Style and, rumor has it, Sony Xperia Z4.

Huawei would have to put this camera sensor to good use with better post-processing than the fine, but not spectacular Nexus 6 2014. It needs to take a page out of Samsung's playbook.

Nexus 6 2015 battery life

If there's one area in which the Nexus 6 2015 needs to improve over its predecessor, it's the ho-hum battery life. The previous phone's large 3,220mAh battery capacity only lasted the promised "all day" if used conservatively.

I spent a lot of nights with a dying Nexus 6, looking for a charger, especially as I used the phone more and more later in its lifecycle.

A proper boost may come to the new Nexus 6 in the form of a larger battery, one that's 3500mAh, according to a rumor from Android Police.

That certainly seems credible, considering the new LG Nexus 5 is supposed to contain a 3180mAh battery behind its 5-inch display.

My only concern is that if the new Nexus 6 depth measurements are supposed to be 8.5mm at its thickest point, and the old phone was 10.1mm at its thickest point, does that add up?

We're going to find out that answer and more in a few weeks, as Android Marshmallow readies for launch, and so does the Nexus 6 2015.

• Here's what we've heard about the Nexus 5 2015

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