Every year, we have grown accustomed to seeing a new Nexus device launch from Google and ever since the Nexus S that’s exactly what has happened, a new Nexus device has appeared every Fall. Since Samsung’s first attempt, we’ve had the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus 4 and now the current Nexus 5 as well as some tablet additions in the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. While the rumored Android Silver project has brought the Nexus line’s future under question, it seems that Google isn’t ready to give up selling capable and affordable devices directly to consumers just yet. Recently, we heard that Google was readying a large 5.9-inch Nexus device from Motorola and while that now seems unlikely to appear, a new codename has hit the scene, dubbed ‘Shamu’.
While it looks likely that Google and Motorola are working on the next Nexus device, the rumored size of 5.9-inch looks to have changed, something I thought would be too big for a device running stock Android. Now, the Google Shamu has appeared in AnTuTu’s benchmarking database, with specs that are somewhat predictable, if not a little ambitious in our mind. The device is listed with a 5.2-inch QHD display of 2560 x 1440 and a Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.64 Ghz with 3GB of RAM to back it up. To my mind, these specs seem a little lofty for a Motorola device, a company who’s most reason experience is with AMOLED displays of middling resolutions and 3GB of RAM seems overkill for Android L, a release of Android that is apparently even more efficient than KitKat. Then there’s the camera, which are pegged at 13 and 2.1-megapixels, respectively.
There’s no way of telling if this benchmark was falsified or not, but it would be a little early for such a device to appear in benchmarks and if the Shamu is in fact Motorola’s first stab at the Nexus, a Quad HD display would be some feat for Motorola to achieve. Of course, it’s only the middle of August right now and as any Nexus aficionado can tell you these devices don’t come along until the Autumn at least so, there’s a long way yet for the Nexus 6 – or whatever it’s going to be called – to be finalized yet.
