Google Nexus 2016 release date: leaked images of Marlin, Sailfish prompt rumors of imminent launch

One of Google's latest Nexus smartphones, the Huawei Nexus 6P; according to rumors, HTC will be also be the maker of the upcoming Nexus lineups.Google Nexus website

Although fans already expect new Nexus flagships to come out this year, Google has yet to confirm a reveal date for the new iterations. Speculations suggest that the launch may be sooner than expected, as actual images of Nexus 2016 prototypes make their rounds online.

Speculations that the new Nexus 2016 flagships will come out soon continue as supposed leaks on the new iterations, codenamed Sailfish and Marlin, crop up online. The latest round of purported details on the new Nexus flagships portray the Sailfish iteration as the smaller and base model of the two upcoming handsets. Based on supposed details, the Sailfish will have a 5.2-inch display with screen density of 420, meaning it will come out with full HD. The larger 5.5-inch Marlin, on the other hand, is expected to come out with a brighter Quad HD resolution.

Meanwhile, the Marlin iteration is said to come out as the flagship, top-tier model for the Nexus 2016 launch. Aside from a bigger 5.5-inch display, the Marlin handset will sport a Snapdragon 820 processor with at least 4GB of RAM under the hood. It is unclear if both handsets will have the same camera setup, but the Marlin will feature a 16MP/8MP cameras as main and front snappers. The Marlin is also expected to come out with a fingerprint scanner, since the biometrics feature is already reportedly confirmed for the Marlin Nexus.

As to when Google plans to release the two new flagships, the purported release of the full version of Android Nougat may give a hint. Google has been known to launch new Nexus iterations as vehicles for major Android platform releases, and Android 7.0 is expected to come onboard the Nexus 2016 flagships. This means that the 2016 iterations may come out as early as next month, the supposed schedule for Android 7.0 Nougat.