Nexus 6 Release Date Update: Android Licorice Will Power Next Nexus & Will Sell at $450

A few days before its official unveiling, new reports are suggesting that the Nexus 6 on release date is powered by Android Licorice or 5.0 and will come out of the box with a slightly marked up tag price.

Licorice replaces KitKat

Licorice as the new Android build is not exactly a news item. It is the same Android L that Google had introduced back in June when it held its 2014 edition of the yearly I/O Developers Conference. This time, however, the sweet label Licorice is likely to stick.

According to BGR, Android Licorice came directly from Giovanni Calabrese. This was the same man commissioned by Google in designing the giant Android sculptures that adorned the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Apparently, Google is tapping Calabrese anew for its next Android sculpture project and the artist is generous enough in providing hints that point to the next Android sugary name.

It is not Lollipop, Lion nor Lemon Meringue Pie as previously indicated. Licorice it is and the name was implied rather explicitly by Calabrese in a recent Google+ post.

"I never had a great liking for Licorice, but damn! There are some great flavors out there," the BGR report quoted the designer as saying.

It looked like too that Android Licorice has bumped off other candidates as nickname for Google's upcoming mobile operating system as Calabrese also revealed that his project with the Internet search giant is practically a done deal.

As of writing, the artist was on his way to Google's HQ to soon commence work on Licorice - that is the software's imposing representation.

Price hike but still affordable

And as Android L details become more definite so is one of the first devices that it will fuel into life - the Nexus 6 that most likely is the repurposed second-generation Moto X.

As a Motorola-made hardware, the next Nexus phone is said to boast of the following superior specs:

§ a 5.9-inch screen with 2560 x 1440 display that makes use of QHD technology

§ a brute 2.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 chip that pairs with 3GB of RAM

§ basic 32GB of internal storage

§ 13MP main shooter OIS capability that is combined with 2.1MP front camera

§ Aluminum casing

§ and 3200mAh battery

No doubt the above specs are top-tier, which suggests Google might be forced to bumped up the sticker price from last year's top Nexus 5 model at $400.

The best bet among Nexus is a price point of no more than $450 for the unlocked Nexus 6. The figures somehow justify the upcoming device's big leap, specs- and feature-wise, from its immediate predecessor while keeping with the Nexus hallmark of accessibility.

The Nexus 6 release date is seen to follow shortly after its October 16 introduction, likely going live on the Google Play Store between November 1 and 3.