Two Google Nexus smartphones made by HTC are expected this year, and the larger one, codenamed Marlin, just surfaced on AnTuTu, revealing its core specifications.
The Nexus Marlin, along with the Nexus Sailfish, are expected to hit the United States sometime in the near future, as the two devices already recently received FCC certification.
The new AnTuTu benchmark now confirms some of the rumored specifications of the Nexus Marlin, the bigger of the two devices. The benchmark listing surfaced on Weibo and was also shared on Twitter by reliable tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer, aka OnLeaks.
According to the benchmark, the HTC Nexus Marlin will rock a 5.5-inch QHD display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and pack a powerful Snapdragon 820 processor under the hood, along with Adreno 530 graphics and a hefty 4 GB of RAM.
Other Nexus Marlin specifications include 32 GB of native storage space, a 13-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel selfie cam, and a 3,450 mAh battery to keep everything up and running.
On the software front, the Nexus Marlin will serve as one of the launch vehicles for Google's latest Android OS version, which means that it will boast Android 7.0 Nougat right out of the box.
Being part of the Nexus family, the devices will also be among the first in line to get future patches and updates from Google as soon as they become available.
A Nexus Sailfish AnTuTu benchmark from last week reveals that the Sailfish and Marlin will share many specifications, including the chipset, RAM, storage and camera combo. The greatest difference between the two seems to be screen size and resolution, as the Nexus Sailfish is expected to feature a 5-inch display with a full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), as opposed to the QHD prowess of the 5.5-inch Marlin.
Moreover, the Nexus Marlin is expected to rock a sleek metal build to make it look and feel more premium, while the smaller Nexus Sailfish will reportedly have a plastic build.
Based on these differences, it's safe to assume the Nexus Marlin will be the higher-end of the two, hence more expensive, while the Nexus Sailfish will come as an upper-midrange, more affordable alternative.
No information is currently available as to how much the devices will cost or when they will hit the market, but Google should make an official announcement soon enough.
It will be interesting to see what HTC has cooked up for the Nexus line this year, especially since the company has been trying to get back on track after losing ground to rivals in the smartphone market. As always, we'll keep you posted as soon as we get more information.
