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Is Huawei making the next Nexus smartphone?

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It’s safe to say Google’s next Nexus smartphone won’t launch until summer at the earliest (and more likely fall, if we go off of previous year’s releases), but the rumors are already starting to swirl. The latest says not only will Google release two new Nexus handsets this year, but one will be produced by a Chinese manufacturer.

Google’s plan seems to include updating both Nexus models currently available. It’s too early whether or not to say they will retain the 5-inch and 6-inch form factors, but at the very least we should get a premium model (these early rumors say it will be produced by LG) and a more affordable option. The latter would be the device produced by a Chinese OEM, and the thinking is that OEM will be Huawei.

While we can’t put too much stock in the rumors as they sit, they make at least some sense. China continues to grow as a market for Google and Android, and it would do Google well to show some love to one of the biggest manufacturer of mobile devices in that country (and the biggest overall manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in the world). As for hardware specs? We won’t take any guesses at what those will look like just yet.

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155 Comments

  1. Oooof… Not too comfortable with those folks making the next Nexus.

  2. I actually heard the exact same thing last fall. I had heard that Google wanted a Chinese manufacturer for an Android Silver phone and they were in talks with Huawei. This is great news if this turns out to be true. Huawei makes amazing devices in terms of hardware quality.

  3. There definitely needs to be an affordable Nexus.

  4. Whoever makes the next Nexus that’s less than 6″ get’s my money on day 1. Huawei just means it won’t run me $700 as far as I’m concerned.

    1. not to be a smart ass but the nexus 6 is UNDER 6 inches….

      1. I’m far to lazy to fact check right now, but I thought the N6 was something like 6.2 x 3.2. If it’s not, I apologize, but my point still stands. That phone is too damn big! (For me)

        1. it is a bit big haha trust me. I like it tho and have smaller hands. its actually been more convenient than I thought i would be. and its 5.96 inches by the way =)

          1. That’s what she said.

          2. walked into that one! haha

          3. So ironically a coworker came in today with a new N6 so I got some hands on time with it. Beautiful phone, I mean, it’s incredible. I loved everything about it except it’s size. As large as my hands are, and I could 1 hand it, it was really uncomfortable. I would HAVE to get a headset to use it, and the Spigen case with the kickstand is a must. I’m going to hold out. Good stuff though.

          4. dont blame u one bit. its taken a bit to get used to. I’m really missing my G3 in a lot of ways. I’m hoping the G4 is something similar in size but better battery life. Because i’ll end up going back to them or heading to HTC if they release a 5.5 inch phone.

          5. I would love it if HTC got another Nexus phone in that size ballpark, but I’m still kinda pissed with Sense UI so anything else they made while nice, HTC 1, I just watch it from a distance and hope for the best.

        2. 5.96″ to be exact lol

      2. .04 inches isn’t negligible?

        1. sure, if u wanna round up

    2. I don’t know. N5 is pretty good phone, and unless it runs horribly slow under Android M, I’m not upgrading.

      1. I’ve been rocking the N5 since launch day, and that’s my biggest gripe. Lollipop kinda borked it hard. I have this feeling that’s it may become a 2012 Nexus situation, in which case I’ll have to weight what’s stronger. My love of Nexus devices or usable size.

  5. I would not be apposed to this….I think it would mean a cheaper Nexus again. Which is always welcome. I would like to see a 5.5 inch Nexus next year. I love my N6 but it could afford to shed some size. And after having my G3, I felt it was the perfect balance of phone size and screen size.

    1. 5.5 in the form factor of the G3 feels absolutely amazing. If it had a stylus it would be damn near perfect for me. I’m too addicted to my s-pen.

      1. could not agree more!

  6. Xiaomi would be more likely.

    1. That would actually be cool their phones look really nice.

    2. That would be awesome

    3. Fingers crossed bro.

      1. Agreed.

    4. Xiaomi will never be officially allowed in the United States, They are the biggest patent and design infringers on the planet. You of all people who loves make false and inaccurate statements about apple copying every android device maker, OH, wait its only when you’re bashing apple that you see a company is copying someone else…..

  7. I just hope that all Nexus phones going forward follow this model of being able to be run on any carrier. Verizon Included…

  8. No thanks, I do not want a Chinese made phone. I don’t want both the Chinese and US governments spying on me.

    1. bro

      1. well said. haha

      2. I love photoshop, haha.

      3. hahaha +1

    2. neither the US nor China give a crap about your instagram selfies

      1. selfiepower

      2. Just location when they need it.

    3. You don’t want a Chinese made phone… well, that’s going to narrow down your choices to basically nothing.

      1. HTC is not make in China.

        1. 90% of the pieces inside are. Please, think this argument through.

          1. Yes everything is ‘made’ in China but the assembly of HTC are done in Taiwan. Many of the parts are from non Chinese companies. Huawei on the other had is a Chinese company, using Chinese companies parts. Most companies are moving away from China. TSMC had plants in Taiwan. JDI screen are manufacture in Japan. So you need to rethink what you talking about.

          2. read above. Google it. HTC had the M8 made in BOTH China and Taiwan. Fail on your part.

          3. If you say. Yes both are make. The M8 that is made in China is for the Chinese market. How is it 90% when the casing, the screen and the processor is not make in China? Those make up the majority of the phone? Half of the phone is the casing and screen.

        2. just read this online on a few places that a lot of the phones pieces are developed in China. The phone is actually assembled in Taiwan. I would say its made in China….since there are no manufacturers in Taiwan that develop any parts for this phone.

          1. I can name two parts of HTC phone that are not made in China. The display is JDI their LCD screen is manufactured in Japan. TSMC fab Qualcomm chips and their plants is in Taiwan.

          2. as seen below, 90% of the phone is made in china….you have confirmed this. I said a lot of the phones pieces are made in China, not ALL. I’m glad you are basing your original statement on two parts from the hundreds in a cell phone though, good job. And if you did your homework, you could easily find out that there are 2 separate M8’s that HTC “makes”. The Taiwan variant and Chinese variants. Both are differed by different colored paints used. A simple google search will inform you of this =)

    4. Practically all phones are made in China including Android, Windows, Blackberry and Apple. You could build you own with the new CNC printer at home.

    5. You are, undoubtedly, using Chinese made products in whatever device you are using right this very moment to type this into this website. People need to get over this concept. It is pervasive through ALL your tech all over your life (home, car, kitchen, phone, tablet, computer, clothing, blah blah blah)…. Just a simple fact of life. I, personally, want the best tech out there and if that means Chinese, I’ll take it.

      1. I don’t mean made in China as in put together. I mean Chinese designed hardware and with software, that a Chinese company that is partly owned by the communist government, got there grubby hands on. Who knows what backdoors they put in there hardware. I’m not as worried with phones we use now because most lkely the software updates from the carriers and google wouldn’t apply if the Chinese company altered it.

      2. I don’t mean made in China as in assembled. I mean Chinese designed hardware and with software, that a Chinese company that is partly owned by the communist government, got their grubby hands on. Who knows what backdoors they put in the hardware. I’m not as worried with phones we use now (that are assembled in China) because most likely the software updates from the carriers and google wouldn’t apply if the Chinese company – that assembled and loaded the inital software – had altered it.

        Do you think anyone in the world would buy a phone from a company that the US government partly owned?!? Hell no they wouldn’t.

        1. Do I think that, yes. Why? Because the average person will buy whatever turns them on from wherever it comes from as said people don’t give a F what you are talking about.

          1. That is true but people that at least research what phones they buy (everyone on this site) are usually also the ones that give those inept people advice on which phones to buy.

          2. And my inept advice would be, buy the best tech you can afford no matter what country it comes from knowing it is all a conglomeration of tech. If USA developers cannot keep up – and who even is there – to bad.

      3. I’m pretty sure most Samsung and LG phones are made in South Korea.

        1. Don’t know about LG, but many of Samsung’s phones are assembled in China by Foxconn (same factory as the iPhones).

      4. I’m actually wearing a shirt right now with a mobile hotspot sewn into the front pocket. I only buy things from China.

    6. Tin foil hat’s a little tight there, Skippy.

  9. I sure hope not. I miss the days when nexus phones were super phones and set the standards in what a flagship device should be.

    1. The Nexus 6 sure shows up a lot of flagships, though I suppose it’s based on the Moto X.

      1. That’s true but nexus 6 is too big in my opinion. I haven’t held a nexus 6 yet but all of the other nexus devices(galaxy nexus, nexus s, nexus 4, nexus 5) fell cheap and flimsy compared to the nexus 1. Nexus one felt and looked solid.

  10. The latter would be the device produced by a Chinese OEM….. like Motorola Mobility? Anybody know even when Motorola Mobility was owned by Google most everything was already built in China.

  11. Upgrade the 5, leave it the same size and affordability and the 6 can be for the big spending phablet crowd.

    1. Agreed. The Nexus 5 is a perfect size for most. Not too or small. I’m really hoping for a Nexus 5 2015.

    2. They wouldn’t even need to redesign the look. They would only need to upgrade the internals. Up to date SoC, more RAM, a better camera, faster/more flash and a larger battery and call it a day. It would be a plus if previous cases were still fitting.

      1. You know, I like the way you think!

      2. Google hire this man

      3. Oh how I long for a LG G2 with updated internals running stock android without crippling the camera.

  12. Why cant the Chinese manufacturer be Xiaomi? I would rather it be them than Huawei

  13. LG manufactured the best selling, looking, and most popular Nexuses… The 4 and 5. Another Nexus from them would be more than welcome

    1. I’d say the Nexus 6 trumps both of those, love using it much more than those two. I actually have people want to buy it from watching me use it too. Never had that occur with LG’s Nexus. Very impressed with Motorola, make another one. ;D

      1. I agree. Motorola can make all Nexus phones from here on out as far as I’m concerned. If Google’s really going to be dumb enough to give the premium one to LG again, then all I have to say is that I’m glad I got my Nexus 6 when I did.

        1. Yeah I really hope Motorola can make a more reasonably sized Nexus phone with a huge battery and good camera

      2. Motorola is a Chinese OEM now.

    2. I’d say the Galaxy Nexus was better looking than both the 4 and 5.

      1. Nexus S is my fave.

        1. I remember owning a Nexus One… it was a beautifully crafted phone.

          1. Yeah Nexus One was sweet, missed the LED ball when I got the NS, but first time having amoled screen seemed like a big jump.

        2. Mines too. I dont find too many people that loved that design or phone

      2. Nexus One for the win

    3. The only reason the L(ousy)G(arbage) Nexi were popular was because they were price-subsidized and therefore cheap.

      1. I disagree. The Nexus 5 feels premium and had matching specs to other flagships when announced.

        1. Never mind that its camera sucked, its battery sucked, and, like all LG phones, it suffered from overheating issues.

          1. The camera was average, it gets the job done though. If you’re looking for an awesome camera buy a standalone camera. Battery life depends on the user and typically the bugs that come with updating which didn’t affect all, or an app occasionally. I personally only suffered from horrible battery life when Skype had a bug that took a while to fix. I’ve never had an overheating issue with the N5.

          2. I agree on the camera, it’s “good enough”… if I needed a great camera, I’d buy a camera.

            Battery life for me has been all over the place. On KitKat it would be great, then an update to the Play Services app would kill it, then another update to Play Services app would fix it. Finally I installed Wakelock Terminator and I got 3-4 days on a charge. With 5.0 (with no Xposed, so no Wakelock Terminator) battery life was terrible (struggled to get through 1 day), although an update to the Google Search app made it a little bit better (I could at least get through a day). With 5.0.1, it’s been acceptable again at 1.5-2 days on a charge. I haven’t tried the new Xposed yet.

            I’ve never seen overheating issues either.

          3. I too did experience infrequent battery life issues with Google Play services but I’d chalk that up to the way Google rolls out updates or apps coding when 5.0 first went live.

          4. Had two N5s (sold one, bought an S5 and then realised my terrible mistake), and never had a problem with overheating or battery (well, anymore than any other Android phone).

            Camera has OIS so with HDR mode you get some nice snaps. Not S5 or iPhone nice, but better than any previous Nexus device by a long way.

          5. The Nexus 5’s overheating issues are well documented. Do a simple Google search and you will turn up many results. Here are a few:

            https://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/Nexus_5_Troubleshooting#Section_Overheated_Device

            http://www.androidpit.com/nexus-5-fix-common-problems

            http://www.jbgnews.com/2015/01/google-nexus-5-overheating-solutions-and-potential-causes/035506.html

            http://au.ibtimes.com/lg-nexus-5-top-10-encountered-issues-their-fixes-including-overheating-tethering-camera-bugs-1324738

            Apparently some of the big things that can cause overheating are gaming (of course), listening to music (what the hell?), and… uh… charging the phone (WTF?). Yes folks, you are apparently not supposed to use this phone while it is on the charger. SMH.

            As for the G series, it’s even worse. Overheating, slowdowns requiring constant reboots, crashing, battery issues. Just look at this article:

            http://www.androidauthority.com/lg-g3-problems-517832/

            These problems sound awfully familiar to me, and that’s because I had every single one of them with my old G2x. It’s good to see things haven’t changed, even after all these years. Ugh. I bought that POS because at the time, everyone was swearing up and down that no, their old phones were crap, but they’re good now, I promise! And the reviews of course were stellar. But the phone proved to be the same good old LG. Complete garbage. Well needless to say, I’m not falling for that one again, and I don’t recommend anyone else to do so either.

          6. Battery was less than some of the competition when it came out. Updates made the camera much better (still not good for action shots) and if you don’t have parkinsons you should be able to take a decent shot, especially on HDR. Overheating issues? We had 2 N5s and neither had this problem. I also don’t play games on the phone. This is the first I have heard of this.

      2. lousy garbage? The G line have been some of the best options every year.

    4. Nexus 5 > Nexus 4

  14. IF so, I would likely buy into it and I am not a big Nexus concept fan. Companies like Xiaomi and Huawei seem to crush the big names in terms of price versus what you get in terms of tech. IMHO, they consistently show the big guys – Samsung – over charge and under deliver to the US market. I think these guys would stir things up in a great way if they broke into USA.

    1. I would buy a Xiaomi Nexus. No lie.

  15. It will be their Honor.

  16. Maybe OPPO?

  17. Pass on Huawei

  18. 1) China-made phones certainly give me a bit of an uncomfortable feeling.
    2) Wonder if the next Nexus will still be VZW-inclusive…..

    1. Every phones are made in china

  19. Wayyy!

    I mean… Yeah, Wei!

    Party on Garth.

  20. Looking forward to a cheaper (in cost, not quality) Nexus 6 next year.

  21. PROBLEMS with Huawei making the next Nexus Phone……….. Concerns: 1) goodbye to two dual front facing speakers, 2) goodbye to the awesome curved frame of the Nexus6, #3) goodbye to the long-life battery included in the Nexus6, #4) the phone might look like a crappy Huawei Ascend smartphone… #5) Huawei doesn’t usually include top of the line CPU or the best other hardware chips… so that’s another concern.

    1. I think most of your concerns are valid except for the battery one. None in the nexus line is known for good battery life. Huawei has also put out some pretty decent phones lately, some which have had great battery life. Personally, if Sony was really going to get out of the phone game, I would like it if their last phone was a nexus. I would also be game for OPPO or another LG based nexus.

      1. you say, “None in the nexus line is known for good battery life”…. that used to be true… but it isn’t true anymore… Take a look at the Nexus 6. Phonearena.com ran tests on all the phones to see how average user consumption uses their batteries. here are the results.

        1. I prefer anandtech, they are way more thorough and actually adjust for screen brightness unlike other sites.
          http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph8687/69109.png

          1. that chart you posted says the Nexus6 has poorer battery life than the Nexus5………. Bwahahahahaha. I’ve owned both the N5 and the N6….and I can tell you I charge my phone only at nights on the N6… with the N5, i had to charge mid-day just to keep using it. so something is definitely odd to me when I look at that chart.

          2. Wake locks can do a number on your battery.

          3. i’m with you. the N5 was HORRIBLE compared to the N6 in terms of battery life. I get 2 days out of my N6 at 30% brightness. my friend does not get that out of his N5 nor his Note 4. that chart is flawed.

          4. Anand lost it a long time ago, they do throw lots of useless stats at you but their biases are evident

    2. Well they’ll have to in this case. I’m sure Google doesn’t say, “Make this phone” then waits for the manufacture to mass produce it. I feel there’s some collaboration that goes on and if Google approves they’ll let the phone be made.

      This is my opinion, though.

  22. One vote for OPPO…….

  23. The next Nexus will be made by Motora again

    1. it needs to go back to HTC

      1. Nexus 1 was and still is my favorite one. That opinion is a bit biased though, since it also includes some nostalgia.

        But I miss that trackball. It was so convenient. I’d love to see that come back. The HTC G2 was a great phone. Trackpad and physical keyboard. Now that’s a phone I want!!

        1. Youre going way back in design lol. My Favorite Nexus was the Nexus S but the best designed Nexus was the Nexus One. The G2 was beautiful as well but I def dont wanna see any devices bring back the trackball/pad lol I love a clean front. But to each its own

  24. No thanks on Huawei. Rather have a dependable company make the Nexus 5 2015. LG and Moto are reliable. Don’t mind paying a bit more for a dependable company.

    1. Really ? I don’t recall LG being so “reliable” in the android world before the nexus series helped them out so much. The G2x was a disaster the optimus g was seen by a lot of average consumers as a knockoff Galaxy S device. All I’m saying is we have to give these companies a shot. I’m looking forward to a new comer in the nexus world.

      1. You’re looking way back into 2010-2011. The G-G3 are good. Nexus 4 and 5 are great.

        1. That’s what I’m saying I totally agree that those devices you mentioned are great. What I was saying as well was before they did the nexus line their devices weren’t great and that could be the same case with Huwaei

          1. HTC is my next choice outside of LG and Moto for Nexus devices. If Huawei can get a nice camera sensor, good battery life, stronger multi tasking from Google, and a fingerprint scanner, we can talk about Huawei and my business lol.

  25. I may be in the minority but I am certainly looking forward to a newcomer getting help from google. I’m all for newbies getting a OnePlus One

  26. Um… Sony! *drops mic and walks away*

  27. In my opinion LG needs to work on making better displays.
    Nexus 4 screen sucked, nexus 5 screen sucked, g2 and g3 screen’s sucked.
    As much as I hate Samsung bloat, they consistently produce the best displays.

  28. I hope Moto again or Sony for a change.
    Huawei can make the Nexus Tablet this year.

    1. I would also like to see Sony make a Nexus.

  29. They will be 7″ and 8″ phones with increased text, image, spacing size so you see 3 lines per screen and half the line will be an image and two lines of text per line but no more than 3 words per line. They will look like phones for elephants.

    1. and we will all be friggin blind as sh*t

    2. Looking at your picture, it will be a perfect phone for you!!!

  30. I’d buy a Huawei Nexus.

  31. Lenovo? Just makes sense to me considering Motorola made the last one

  32. They are gonna turn around and surprise everyone, Xiaomi will make the next Nexus.

  33. I love the nexus line, even my bloated Verizon galaxy nexus still holds a place in my heart. As far as build quality my nexus 6 is by far the best, moto knows how to make a phone.

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  34. Nexus 5 is the best nexus ever especially when you consider the bang for the buck

  35. Anyone but moto. Both my phone’s backs have come off. Terrible build quality.

  36. I love Nexus devices, but not interested in a Chinese built Nexus, don’t trust Huawei and rapidly losing faith in Lenovo over their SuperFish debacle…

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