When the first rumors began popping up in May about two planned HTC Nexus Android smartphones, no details at all were available for the handsets, which left a lot of specifications to be filled in later.
Now more details, in the form of the latest unconfirmed rumors, have popped up about at least one of the two ghost phones, which has been referred to so far by its code name, Sailfish, according to a June 23 story by AndroidPolice.
None of the alleged specifications has been confirmed with a second source at this point, but the handset could include a 5-inch 1080p display, a quad-core 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB of memory, 32GB of onboard storage and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, the story reported. Also rumored are a 12-megapixel main rear camera, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, a bottom-mounted speaker or speakers, a top-mounted headphone jack, a 2,770mAh battery, a USB-C port and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity.
No other details are available, including a release date or potential pricing.
The first rumors about the upcoming handsets arrived in May, according to an earlier eWEEK story. HTC had built the Google Nexus One and Nexus 9 Android smartphones in the past. The first rumors about HTC’s move came from well-known news tipster Evan Blass, who posted several tweets on Twitter about his original observations. Blass’ Twitter name is @evleaks.
“HTC is building a pair of Android N devices for Google internally dubbed M1 and S1 #nexus,” Blass posted in an April 27 tweet. He followed his original message up with another related post, “So now I’m hearing that there are going to be both a Maxx 3 as well as a Turbo 3. #dejavu.”
The two devices are code-named Marlin (M1) and Sailfish (S1), which follows a Google naming system that follows a history of naming devices for aquatic life.
In March, another Google Nexus handset, the Nexus 5X, debuted as the second phone being sold for use with Google’s Project Fi mobile phone services, which start at $20 a month. The Nexus 5X smartphone is made by LG for use with Google’s Project Fi inexpensive monthly wireless service plans. The Nexus 5X is priced at $349 for a 16GB model or $399 for a 32GB model.
Project Fi is Google’s inexpensive mobile phone service that came out in April 2014 under what was then an invitation-only system. Project Fi phone services recently opened to all users who buy or provide a compatible Nexus smartphone that will work with the service. So far, the Nexus 6P by Huawei, the new Nexus 5X and the earlier Nexus 6 are the only three smartphones that will work with Project Fi’s network. Users pay $20 per month for cellular access, plus data fees of $10 per GB only for the data that is consumed each month. The monthly access fee also includes unlimited talk and texting, WiFi tethering and international coverage in more than 120 countries.
In April, HTC unveiled its own flagship Android smartphone, the HTC 10 (pictured), to take on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 phones, Apple’s iPhones and others. The HTC 10 includes a myriad of improvements to its processor, cameras, battery and audio system, giving potential buyers of HTC’s latest smartphone lots to consider. The HTC 10 replaces the HTC One M9, incorporating a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, vastly improved front and rear cameras, and upgraded audio capabilities. The latest handset has a metal unibody design and runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. The HTC 10 features a 5.2-inch, Quad HD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) touch-screen display that is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core 64-bit processor, 4GB of memory, 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage, and a microSD slot that accepts storage cards up to 2TB.