Nexus 9, Nexus 6 And Android L Details Surface Prior To Expected Oct. 15 Launch

Mid-October signifies that Google's product launch is near. Screencap/YouTube

It's mid-October, which means new-product season at Google Inc. On Tuesday the search giant provided additional hints to what's in store with a new video depicting a casting call for prospective names for the latest version of Android, dubbed internally "Android L."


From the teaser, we can determine that the new Android system won’t be called Lemon Meringue Pie, Lava cake, Lady Finger, Lemon drop or Oreo; however, there is an indication that the system version is in fact Android 5.0. So far, the most accepted names for Android L, Lollipop and Licorice, are still in the running.

The latest video comes after an earlier leak of Android and Nexus teaser ads. Both the Nexus 9 tablet and Nexus 6 smartphone are expected to be the first devices to ship with Android L, or whatever desert Google decides to call it.

Google is expected to announce the new operating system, tablet and phone on Wednesday; a report in Forbes indicated Google may announce the devices on its blog. An insider told the publication that the Nexus 9 should be available for preorder on Oct. 17 and for purchase on Nov. 3. There will likely be 16GB internal storage model and 32GB model with LTE connectivity, which should cost $399 and $499 respectively.  

The Nexus 9, developed by HTC, is known internally as “Volantis,” and is expected to include an 8.9-inch (2048×1440) display, a 64-bit chip by NVIDIA, an 8-megapixel rear camera, 3-megapixel front-facing camera and 2GB RAM. The Nexus 9 is also expected to include a feature never before seen on a Nexus device, expandable storage. The tablet may also include HTC’s new Eye Experience camera software, which was introduced last week on the HTC Desire Eye smartphone.

The Nexus 6, developed by Motorola, is known internally as “Shamu,”and is expected to include a 5.9 inch display, making it Google’s first phablet smartphone. The device may also feature 2.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and a 2-megapixel front camera. The Nexus 6 will likely take design cues from Motorola’s recently launched Moto X (2014) smartphone, as many leaks, including one shared by well-known tech informant Evleaks indicates. He notes that the device has no obvious Nexus branding.