After months of Nexus 6 rumor and speculation, Google has officially taken the wraps off of the latest Nexus device lineup in the Nexus 6 by Motorola, Nexus 9 by HTC and the new for Google Nexus Player built by Asus, which is the search giant’s first attempt at a microconsole that features its second attempt at integrating Android on a set-top box in Android TV, following the failure of the previous Google TV initiative.
The Nexus 6 features a contoured aluminum frame, a 5.9-inch Quad HD display and a 13-megapixel rear camera. The large screen is complemented by dual front-facing stereo speakers. It also comes with a Turbo Charger, for up to six hours of use with only 15 minutes of charging. Hardware specs include a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 with 3GB of RAM and either 32 or 64GB of internal storage running Android 5.0 Lollipop. Nexus 6 will be available for pre-order in late October for $649.99 and in stores in November, with options for an unlocked version though the Play store, or a monthly contract/installment plan through carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon.
The HTC-built Nexus 9 tablet features brushed metal sides and an 8.9-inch display, is small enough to easily carry around in one hand, yet big enough to work on. A new keyboard folio that magnetically attaches to the Nexus 9 and folds into two different angles will also be available as a companion accessory for $219.99. Hardware specs for the Nexus 9 consist of an Nvidia Tegra K1 chipset with 2GB of RAM, either 16 or 32GB of internal storage, an 8.9-inch 4:3 aspect ratio display at QXGA resolution (2048×1536), 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 1.6-megapixel front facing camera, dual microphones, 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio along with support for HSPA/LTE and Bluetooth 4.1. The Nexus 9 will be available for pre-order on October 17 and in stores starting November 3 starting at $399.
The new Nexus Player is a streaming media player for movies, music and videos. It’s also an Android gaming device that can play Android games on your HDTV with a gamepad, then move the game on your phone while you’re on the road. Nexus Player is also Google Cast Ready so you can cast your favorite entertainment from almost any Chromebook, Android, and iOS phone or tablet to your TV. Like the Nexus 9 tablet, the Nexus Player will be available for pre-order on October 17th and available in stores on November 3rd for $99.99. Technical specifications consist of an Intel Atom processor at 1.8GHz with 1GB of RAM, PowerVR GPU, 8GB of internal storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio and Bluetooth 4.1.
Android 5.0 Lollipop, which ships on Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, will also be available on Nexus 5, 7, 10 and Google Play edition devices in the coming weeks. Motorola is the first to confirm a future update to Android Lollipop for both generations of the Moto X, both versions of the Moto G, and even the Moto E along with the 2013 Verizon Motorola Droid series. Rollout timeframes for the updates have yet to be confirmed.
