It seems that rumors of HTC building the next Nexus phones may have some truth to them. The Taiwan-based tech giant has just confirmed that it will be one of the early adopters of the new Android N platform, bringing the new version to its flagship lineups.
In a tweet, HTC confirmed that the new platform will be coming to its recent lineups. The post reads, "Life is about to get a little sweeter. Android N will be coming to the HTC 10, HTC One A9 and the HTC One M9." An early update to a full-version Android N would indicate that HTC is working closely with Google, although HTC has yet to confirm this. This further fuels the speculations that Google has tapped HTC to be the maker of its Nexus smartphone flagships for 2016.
The rumors started when it was reported that HTC has already signed a three-year contract with the tech conglomerate. In addition, Google and HTC have already partnered for Nexus projects in the past, on the original Nexus One and the Nexus 9 tablet. A new HTC project for the next Nexus flagships this year is certainly plausible.
Meanwhile, the announcement by HTC of its early adoption of Android N only included recent flagship releases. According to 9to5Google, this may mean that that the older-gen yet still popular One M8 iteration will be discontinued soon. While HTC has yet to confirm the rumor, HTC's senior communications manager Jeff Gordon has been quoted as saying, "Not sure yet. Not saying yes or no yet, however, please note M8 is over 2 years old now."
However, the HTC announcement may also mean that the company is only prioritizing early adoption of Android N for its newer devices but will still update older-gen iterations with the new platform.
