Google Nexus 2016: Features of HTC manufactured bigger model called Marlin surface

Barely a week after we heard about Google's upcoming smaller Nexus smartphone manufactured by HTC codenamed Sailfish, details about a bigger model called Marlin have surfaced through a leak.

A quick comparison of the hardware features of Sailfish and Marlin suggests both are quite similar in most aspects, according to Android Police, which first shared the specs sheet of Sailfish, claiming it has got strong corroborating evidence for the tech specs.

The latest disclosure suggests a quad-core processor by Qualcomm would power the HTC's bigger Nexus model, while paired with 4GB RAM. Information about the processor is scanty at the moment but speculation suggests it could be a revised version of Snapdragon 820 or the rumoured 821 or 823.

The phone would sport a 5.5in QHD AMOLED screen with resolution at 2560 x 1440 pixels, as opposed to the 5in 1080p display of Sailfish.

Like Sailfish, Marlin will also have a 12 megapixel camera at the back and an eight megapixel front-facing camera for capturing selfies. The speakers would be at the bottom of the phone that will have a USB-C port. In terms of connectivity, it will offer Bluetooth version 4.2.

The battery inside Marlin is comparatively bigger than the one in Sailfish, at 3450mAh. The phone would be available in two storage variants: 32GB and 128GB, and three would no 64GB model in between. The phone would have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

The leak hints that both Nexus devices have some features in common, but they differ only in screen size and battery capacity. This strategy appears similar to Apple's for its iPhone and iPhone Plus variants. Also, both Nexus phones are likely to have an identical design, although it is not clear whether they would have HTC branding at the back.