Google Nexus 2016 smartphones by HTC to sport smaller displays

In 2015, Google collaborated with LG and Huawei to build the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P smartphones respectively. Fresh information suggests Google will once again release two Nexus smartphones this year. However, both the devices are expected to be built by HTC.

According to Gadgetz Arena, a tipster revealed on Weibo that HTC was likely to manufacture two Nexus 2016 smartphones. The first smartphone will be featuring a 5-inch display whereas the larger Nexus smartphone will house a 5.5-inch display.

The Nexus 5X from 2015 sports a 5.2-inch screen whereas the Nexus 6P features a 5.7-inch screen. As a result, Google is likely to reduce the sizes of Nexus smartphones in this year.

In 2014, Motorola had released the Nexus 6 smartphone with a 5.96-inch display. However, its successor, Nexus 6P arrived with a smaller screen of 5.7-inch. Hence, there is a possibility that Google may launch 2016 Nexus smartphones with smaller displays.

Even though HTC smartphones are popular, the company has been struggling to make profits. However, its partnership with Google for making 2016 Nexus smartphones may help market and popularise the brand, and improve its sales. Speculations also indicate that even though Huawei was poised to build the 2016 Nexus smartphones, it lost out to the Taiwanese brand in the end.

As of this writing, there is no official confirmation from Google as to which company will be manufacturing the Nexus 2016 smartphones.

HTC has manufactured a number of Nexus devices in the past. The very first Nexus smartphone, Nexus One was a HTC product. The Nexus 9 tablet from 2014 was also built by HTC.

The Taiwanese firm most recently unveiled the HTC Vive VR headset. During this launch, CEO and co-founder of HTC Cher Wang announced that the company would be focusing more on virtual reality headsets than on smartphones.