Nexus 6 Leak: Launch Oct. 31 With Nov. Release Date For Motorola 'Shamu’ Smartphone

A new report tips the rumored Motorola Nexus 6 for a launch on Halloween, according to NDTV.

The Oct. 31 unveiling would mean the smartphone, which has been codenamed "Shamu," would have launch exactly a year after its predecessor, the Nexus 5, and likely get a release date in November. As the website notes, Google senior vice president Sundar Pichai stated at MWC that the smartphone's release date time frame was limited to the second half of 2014.

The leak follows the recent spotting of the device's alleged specs via an AnTuTu benchmark listing.

The smartphone will reportedly come running a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, with a quad-core Krait 450 processor clocked at 2.65 GHz, 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 420 graphics chip. Additional specs mentioned include a 5.2-inch QHD display with 1,440 x 2,560 pixel resolution (564 ppi), a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 2.1-megapixel front facing camera and Android L.

The device was previously rumored for a massive 5.9-inch display.

As GForGadgets notes, previous lackluster benchmark scores could likely be due to a lack of optimization, but Google and Motorola should get it all patched up by the time the device launches.

With the Nexus 6 seemingly coming back from the dead, it has also apparently put the brakes on the rumored Android Silver project, according to the Information.

With Motorola reportedly signed up to deliver the next Nexus smartphone, it appears a changing of favor has taken place that would have been difficult to envision before, BGR reports:

"As for Silver, it looks like Google wanted to indeed kill the Nexus program, as previously rumored, and an LG Nexus phone was apparently scrapped. But the Android Silver program was headed by Google Chief Business Office Nikesh Arora, who is on his way out of the company, so Google might reconsider it entirely.

'Some in [Arora's] camp wanted Silver to supersede the Nexus phone program. But with Mr. Arora's absence, there are questions about how much firepower Google will give to the Silver program," the publication wrote.'"

The publication adds that the Nexus 6 is reportedly set for a launch sometime in November alongside the Android L release.

"The rumor this time is simple - according to information made available to us, Motorola is working on a device with Google code-named Shamu," the publication writes. "The device is supposed to be targeted at major U.S. carriers, and unspecified carriers in other parts of the world, which would probably include the markets that currently have access to Nexus devices, though this detail is still unclear."