Nexus 6 Phone Appears Under the Codename 'Shamu,' Release Date in November?

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter Monday, July 28, 2014

A close to 6-inch Nexus smartphone recently surfaced under the codename Shamu keeping in step with previous in-house names for pure Google devices.

The handset was discovered by an Android Police source that claims this device will have a November release date. It also says that Motorola is manufacturing it and that the device will include a fingerprint scanner.

Google is also expected to release an 8.9-inch HTC tablet sometime before the end of this year that will replace the Nexus 10 and Nexus 7.

Various rumors have pointed to the Nexus 10 getting replaced by a new HTC-made Google device sometime this year. Android Police spotted the slate under its codename Volantis and discovered that it will feature some pretty high-end specs with an aluminum body. It also stated that Volantis is referred to as the Nexus 9 inside of Google.

Specs on the tablet include a 8.9-inch display with 2048 x 1440 resolution at 281 ppi, a Nvidia Tegra K1 64-bit processor, 2GB RAM, 16/32GB of storage, a rear 8-megapixel camera, a front 3-megapixel camera, front facing stereo speakers, and an aluminum exterior.

Android Police believes the device will launch alongside the L release of Android during Q4 2014 and will start at $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version, and $499 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model. The LTE versions will be slightly more expensive.

Google plans to replace the Nexus line with the Android Silver program during the next few years which means that this could be the last Nexus tablet and smartphone to be released. However, none of this has been officially confirmed by the company at this time. A Google employee recently shot down that rumor claiming that the Nexus line will continue regardless of Android Silver. The Volantis and Shamu should be available before the end of this year.