Google’s next smartphones will be announced on October 4th during an event in San Francisco. We’ve been seeing leaked details about two new smartphones, code-named Sailfish and Marlin for months, and it looks like the wait for an official announcement is almost over.
It also looks like Google is making a bigger publicity push for its new phones than it usually does for Nexus-branded hardware: the company teased the October 4th announcement in a TV ad that aired on multiple networks during prime time (including during Monday Night Football).
While it’s been widely reported that Google is working with HTC on two new phones, the company has created a website where you can sign up for more information when it becomes available… and that website is madeby.google.com, even though the phones are actually being made by HTC (presumably with input from Google).
Google is expected to introduce a 5 inch smartphone called the Pixel and a 5.5 inch phone called the Pixel XL. The name change may be an indication that Google is taking more control over the design of its phones (the company’s Chromebook Pixel and Pixel C devices were all built in-house). Google may also be planning to charge a premium price for the new phones, while offering financing options for folks that aren’t ready to spend $649 at once on a smartphone.
Both the 5 inch and 5.5 inch models will likely have Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM, rear fingerprint scanners, and the latest version of Google’s Android software (which may be Android 7.1).