Exclusive: This is ‘Shamu,’ Motorola’s upcoming Nexus 6/X

Google’s upcoming “Nexus 6” (some claim it will be called “Nexus X” because of Blade Runner) has long been rumored, and there have been many leaked specifications and details rolling out for quite some time now. But there hasn’t been much solid information about the device quite yet, leaving many who have passed on the iPhone 6 and OnePlus One hopelessly waiting to know if the wait will be worth it. For those of you who fall into this category, you’re in luck.

We can now corroborate previous rumors that its screen size nudges it out of smartphone territory, and closer to the likes of the recent push for phablet devices. If any smartphone is really a phablet, this is it—shipping with a behemoth screen that’s a massive 5.92-inches diagonally, with the device’s body being just a bit larger than that. 9to5Google has also learned that, as for the overall appearance of the device, it’s basically going to be a scaled up 2nd generation Moto X with some minor tweaks to make the larger size easier to use.

Notably, a report from last month based on specifications leaked via GFXBench seemingly all but confirmed a variety of facts about the device: 5.2-inch 1440p display, a 2.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter and Android L (surprise, surprise). While some of these remain true, a recent device we are directly familiar with has shown that only some of this aligns with reality.

The device we’ve learned about is actually going to pack a 5.92-inch screen, as mentioned above, with QHD resolution of 2560 x 1440. This dense screen according to our calculations comes out to be 498 PPI—a fairly impressive number for any smartphone. As such, it’s going to have a battery that is equally impressive, packing 3,200 mAh to power all of those pixels.

As for the camera, it’s actually going to be a 13 MP shooter on the back, and as previously rumored, we can corroborate that it should have the ability to shoot 4K UHD video at launch. As for the front shooter, the device is going to have a 2 MP camera that is identical to the one on the 2nd generation Moto X.

It is our understanding at this point that the device will have a Snapdragon 805 processor as many have suspected and will pack 3 GB of RAM. As far as flash storage goes, we’re directly familiar with at least one device of the 32 GB storage capacity, but other capacities will likely also be available at some point. Interestingly, we’re yet to become aware of a “Shamu” device running 64-bit Android L (which was one of its most important new features), which leads us to question if the final product will take advantage of those performance improvements.

It’s worth noting that, while this device may appear to be a scaled up version of the Moto X, there are some very obvious differences. First, as you can see in our in-house made mock up above (which is based off of a real device), the device is going to have its volume and lock buttons moved down just a bit in comparison to the Moto X, closer to the center of its side. All of the rest of the main device interfaces, such as the mic, headphone jack, and SIM card slot are all located in the same place as the Moto X, proportionally. Also like the new Moto X, the device has a familiar aluminum bezel and a camera that is almost identical in appearance.

Like the Moto X, it should perform well in Bend testing.

Notably, while there isn’t any indication of the Nexus branding on the above depicted device (as we’re hearing this design hasn’t yet been finalized), such branding will almost certainly be on the final model as we’ve seen in the Nexus 4, 5, and others (if this phablet does indeed turn out to be a Nexus). We aren’t quite sure what will come of the “M” inside the small dimple. Finally, as for all of Motorola’s awesome custom software features, it is our understanding that this Nexus device, despite its similarities to Moto’s official lineup, will lack features like Moto Assist and Quick Capture.

All of this said, these details do not rule out that there might actually be more than one Nexus 6/X from Motorola. Devices with screens of 5.2-inches have definitely appeared in benchmark applications, and it’s hard to deny that those must be real prototypes somewhere in the wild. In fact, Apple just released two devices at one time which would make such a move all the more plausible. Everything that we’ve seen points to this being at least one of the next Nexus, but I must stress that as far as we’re aware there’s definitely a tiny and slim possibility that this could just be a phablet that is up and coming in Motorola’s lineup.

Regardless, the device is slated for release in November, with an announcement supposedly aimed to happen at some point late in October. As the announcement nears, we’ll be sure to let you know as we learn more.