Leaked Photo Seemingly Confirms Ginormous Nexus 6

Most of the time, when details or photos of a new device leak online, I tend to hope that they’re the real deal. That’s not the case today, as a photo that purports to show the new Nexus 6 in all its glory has hit the Internet. And brother, this thing is just too huge.

Codenamed Shamu and made by Motorola, the Nexus 6 is believed to be a larger version of the Moto X, but with a 5.9-inch display. A photo in a post on AndroidPolice today (reproduced at the top of this post) seems to show a commuter using a large smartphone that’s running Android L. You can tell it’s Android L by the left-pointing triangle on the bottom, a new shape that’s coming with Google’s Android refresh this fall. That isn’t all that makes this seem like a Nexus 6 being spotted in the wild.

Its shape and the position of the volume buttons on the right side align with what we’ve heard about the new Nexus 6. Another post on AndroidPolice from a few days ago also provides a render of the new device (at right), and it would certainly seem to be the same smartphone shown in the photo.

In short, if this is the one and only Nexus 6, I have to say I’m a bit disappointed, especially given Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Smartphones may be getting bigger all the time, but at a certain point, a device starts to enter territory that can only be called “comically large.” This new Nexus 6 would seem to fit neatly into that category.

At the very least, I’ll be disappointed if Google declines to offer a smaller size option for those of us with a) smaller hands and b) a preference for a phone that doesn’t look like a small notebook. At just under five inches, my Nexus 5 is big enough. If Google doesn’t provide some smaller Nexus options, I can’t see how this new device will find much of an audience. But maybe that’s me – what say you?

[Source: AndroidPolice (1), (2)]