The search giant has nixed the Nexus brand for its 2016 smartphone - here's everything we know about the upcoming iPhone 7 rivals
Google is set to reveal two new phones next week that will offer an alternative to Apple's popular iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
The search giant has been producing its own Android-based phones for the last few years under the "Nexus" brand - but that looks set to change.
According to the latest rumours, Google is planning to ditch the Nexus brand in favour of the Pixel moniker. In the past, the company has used the Pixel name on its tablet and laptop products.
Early rumours suggest the Pixel and Pixel XL phones could be revealed in early October.
Google
Nexus 6P
Although they won't be manufactured directly by Google the company will oversee the entire design process to help it integrate with Android's latest software as closely as possible.
Now the iPhone 7 launch has been and gone, the internet rumour mill is churning out plenty of information on Google's next gadget. Here's what we know about it so far.
Latest news
A leaked image supposedly showing a finished render of the Google Pixel has given us our clearest look yet at the new phone.
It was posted on Twitter and tech site VentureBeat before being swiftly picked up and circulated around the rest of the tech industry press.
Release date
The unveiling for Google's new phones seems pretty clear cut - the company itself has just revealed a teaser video for an event on October 4th.
The video (see above) is a simple one: A standard horizontal search box slowly morphs inwards and upwards until it resembles the outline of a typical smartphone. Finally the date October 4 appears alongside Google's logo.
The caption to the video, posted on YouTube, simply reads "Something new to love on Oct 4."
As for the release date, things are a little murkier. Google will want to have the phones in store as soon as possible to compete with Apple's iPhone 7. Therefore it's reasonable to expect the new Pixel phones to land towards the end of October. If not, expect to see them around the first week of November.
Like the unveiling date, the name of the two new phones seem certain to be the Pixel and the Pixel XL. The Pixel will have 5-inch display, and the Pixel XL will come in at 5.5 inches.
“Speaking to two independent sources, we now strongly believe that Google's formerly-maybe-Nexus-phones, Marlin and Sailfish, will be marketed as the Pixel and the Pixel XL,” wrote David Ruddock fromAndroid Police .
While it's not yet confirmed who will be making the handsets, Android Police have suggested that HTC will behind both of the handsets, while other rumours have suggested it will be split between HTC and LG.
The only things to distinguish the Pixel from the Pixel XL will be screen and battery size, with both models boasting quad-core Qualcomm processors, 4GB of RAM, and 12-megapixel cameras.
By ditching the Nexus name, Google is no doubt trying to put more of its own stamp onto its smartphones.
There have even been suggestions that Google follow Apple's lead and take manufacturing completely in-house - so that it has complete control over the over the design and engineering of its devices, as well as the software.
Design
So far it seems unlikely that Google will follow Apple's lead and ditch the headphone jack on the bottom of its new phones.
In fact, leaked images supposedly showing the upcoming Pixel phones give us an idea of what to expect.
Both have a similar design to last year's well-received Nexus 6P albeit with a thinner bezel that means a near edge-to-edge display.
The images appeared on German site WinFuture and are believed to have come from a Hong Kong-based parts dealer.
Interestingly, some tech commentators are saying the phones will have a dual-lens camera similar to the iPhone 7 Plus.
Price
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the pricing for Google's next fleet of phones.
Firstly, it may follow Apple's model of simply swapping the new phones in to the existing prices. That would mean the Pixel would launch at £299 for the 16GB version and £339 for the 32GB model.
The Pixel XL meanwhile would take the place of the Nexus 6P at £449 for 16GB, £499 for 64GB and £579 for 128GB.
The second school of thought is that Google will up the premium-ness of its phones (as it did with the Pixel brand of Chromebook) and therefore raise prices. We're not sure what kind of prices that means, but it probably won't be cheap.
Specifications
One thing we do know about the new Pixel phones is they will ship with Google's latest version of Android. That means improved efficiency and (hopefully) better battery life.
Our friends at Alphr have an idea of what kind of power the new blowers will be packing.
"The Pixel XL will have a 5.5in 2,560 x 1,440 AMOLED display with a quad-core Qualcomm processor, 4GB of RAM, USB Type-C, rear-facing fingerprint reader, 12-megapixel rear camera and a 8-megapixel front-facing one. It will also have a beefy 3,450mAh battery and standard 32GB of storage, with the option to upgrade to a 128GB if needed," the site claims.
"The Pixel has similar specs, but it’s clearly the lower-end of the two flagships. It will sport a 5in Full HD AMOLED display, quad-core 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, the same cameras as the XL and a smaller 2,770mAh battery. As expected, it will also come with a rear-mounted fingerprint reader and a USB Type-C port."
Should you buy it?
If you don't like the idea of an iPhone 7 there's a lot to suggest Google's phones will offer a decent alternative. These phones will be developed to Google's spec so should have the best integration with Android on the market.
What's more, they're going to be entirely free of the third-party bloatware commonly loaded onto Android phones by other manufacturers.
We'll have to wait until October 4 to really find out what Google has planned.
