An Indonesian Google+ user has given us our first glimpse of what appears to be actual hardware for the next Nexus 5.
Unlike the behemoth that was the Motorola-made Nexus 6 phablet, the original 2013 Nexus 5 packed a more manageable 4.95-inch display, a clean design and respectable flagship-level internals for its day.
Rumours surrounding 2015’s Nexus offerings have circled two potential devices for some time now – a Huawei-made Nexus 6 successor with a 5.7-inch screen and an LG-made Nexus 5 refresh, which looks to be what we can see in this picture.
The photo, which originally appeared on the Nexus Indonesia Google+ community page, shows the plastic back of a new Nexus 5. Whilst material choices may seem identical to the original on first inspection, multiple reports suggest that the phone may also pack a metal frame, a design element we can’t pick out from this angle.
The phone’s back features soft edges and corners, a smooth finish and an LG sticker in the lower left-hand region, better substantiating the company’s involvement in the development of a new Nexus 5. What’s more the camera’s LED flash is also accompanied by what appears to be a laser autofocus sensor – a component currently in use by smartphones manufactured by LG and OnePlus exclusively.
Speaking of the camera, the curves insinuate a camera bump – a by-product of a camera module that’s too deep to fit within the dimensions of the phone’s body. It’s a trait that not everyone is a fan of and may hint at a thin profile, but also a small battery.
Unlike LG’s conventional handsets, which see the power and volume hard keys nestled down the centre of their backs, this Nexus 5 houses what we can assume to be a fingerprint sensor – an important addition, likely present to highlight Android M’s new native fingerprint support.
We’ve seen even less from Chinese smartphone maker Huawei, but its Nexus device is anticipated to be the beefier of the two expected handsets, both physically and with regards to internal hardware performance, but until Google sets a date, we don’t know when we’ll get to meet either of these devices officially.
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