Google Nexus 2016 release date, specs news: Live images show design, features

With the launch of Google's Nexus 2016 just around the corner, purported live images of the pair of flagship smartphones have emerged online.

The first photograph is from an anonymous Twitter user who posted a photo of one of the devices describing the design as a hybrid of the Nexus 4 and the iPhone with glass. The leakster also claimed that the Google Nexus 2016 on the photo has a fingerprint scanner on the back. It was not clarified whether the photo features the Nexus Sailfish or Marlin.

It is believed that both devices share similar designs, although the leakster believes that the one in the photo was the premium one and that the other Google Nexus 2016 device will have "glossy plastic."

Interestingly, Android Police reports that there will be no plastic version of the Google flagship and that the Google Nexus 2016 devices will only differ in size and nothing more. The site also posted an image of the Nexus Sailfish from all angles. Per the tech portal, the photo makes it so that the device is "abnormally thick" and "exaggerates" its thickness, but emphasized that the Google Nexus 2016 is not extremely thin.

Specs-wise, Sailfish is expected to sport a 5-inch full High-Definition (HD) screen and 4 GB of random access memory (RAM) with 32 GB of storage. Marlin is said to come with a 5.5-inch Quad HD display and 3450 mAh battery.

Both Google Nexus 2016 devices will feature a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, a fingerprint sensor on the back as shown in the leaks, and a Type-C USB port next to the speakers.

With regard to the leakster's remark on the Google Nexus 2016 device with a "glossy plastic," Android Police notes that the device in question might not be a Nexus brand at all.

The new Nexus handsets are expected to be released next month with the Android 7.0 Nougat.