A Nexus 6P Android smartphone was run through the benchmarking platform GeekBench, with the device drawing attention because of its specifications.
The next Nexus device by Google is rumored to tap HTC as the manufacturer. While there is not yet an announcement that confirms this, it means that the rumor season for Google's next Nexus device has now opened.
The Geekbench results of an unreleased Nexus 6P reveal a smartphone that is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor, supported by 4 GB of RAM. In comparison, the Huawei-made Nexus 6P that was released in September 2015 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 with 3 GB of RAM.
The device posted a single-core score of 2,115, compared to the 1,346 score posted by the Huawei Nexus 6P. The multi-core score for the new model was at 4,903, which is slightly better than the Huawei Nexus 6P with 4,833.
In addition to the more powerful specifications, the unreleased Nexus 6P spotted on Geekbench has the next version of Google's mobile operating system, currently known simply as Android N, installed. The results also refer to the device's motherboard as "Marlin," which is a name that has been attached to one of the future Nexus devices that Google will release.
The benchmark results could mean either of two things. The first possibility is that the Huawei-made Nexus 6P will be refreshed with the latest Qualcomm processor installed along with the latest version of Android. The second possibility is that the results are hinting at an entirely new Nexus device, which could be linked to Huawei's recently reported trademark filing for the "Huawei 7P" name.
Filing for trademarks sometimes do not lead to the name being used at all, though. Until Google confirms a Huawei-made Nexus 7P or a refreshed Nexus 6P, fans will have no choice but to wait on what new products are being prepared to be released under the Nexus line.
