Could Huawei be tasked with making a new Nexus phone?

Google’s Nexus range is generally considered to one of the highlights of the Android world, despite the fact that all the hardware comes from other phone makers. In the past we’ve had Nexus devices from Motorola, HTC, LG, Samsung, and Asus, but this year’s model? That could be getting handed over to Huawei.

According to a report on Chinese social networking site Weibo, Google will be partnering with a Chinese phone company to produce one of two Nexus devices coming out later this year. It doesn’t specify who that manufacturer is, but TechRadar offers a compelling reason as to why it’s probably Huawei.

The source of Weibo’s information claims that the manufacturer may be providing its own SoC (system on a chip), and Techradar has pointed out that Huawei is the only prominent Chinese phone manufacturer to have its own range of processors.

Interestingly the report claims that the two Nexus devices will be two phones, rather than the phone and tablet combination that Google has gone with in the past. A high spec phone will apparently be made by LG, while the lower-spec phone will be given to Huawei.

Having two phones instead of a phone and a tablet is a bit of an odd move, but not one that is totally unbelievable. Similarly, putting a company like Huawei in charge of a Nexus device isn’t completely preposterous. It might not be a household name over here, but then again neither was HTC when the Nexus One was released five years ago.

It is, of course, far too early to know any of this information for sure. Don’t expect any confirmation for quite some time yet, but you can expect to hear a lot more about this in the coming months.

Tom Pritchard