Google will apparently take a page from its hardware subsidiary Motorola with the new Nexus 5, with the two models difference not only being the size of the internal storage but the size of the battery inside the device.
According to a new rumor one day after the 281 page Nexus 5 service manual, Google will have two different Nexus 5 models, the D820 and D821 and these may have two significant changes: battery life and storage.
The 16GB Nexus 5 will come with a moderate 2400mAh battery, smaller than the normal flagship smartphones but enough for a well optimised Nexus device. The 32GB Nexus 5 will come with a much larger 3000mAh battery, set to last a full day without the need for charge, hopefully.
This move is a replica of the Moto Droid line, with the Droid Ultra acting as the cheaper and slightly less powerful version and the Droid MAXX coming with the huge two/three day battery life and oodles of internal storage.
Google’s CEO Larry Page has spoke out a few times on the difficulty with battery life on regular smartphones and this may be a big push to show manufacturers what is possible in a reasonably sized device.
The LG G2 can last about two days and that is with the heavy skin on top and bright 1080p panel. Hopefully with vanilla Android 4.4 with battery life optimisation, we should see the 32GB Nexus 5 last more than two days without charge.
Reports say the Nexus 5 will be announced by Google sometime this month, with the start price for the 16GB version at $299 and the 32GB version with extra battery life costing $399, both off contract on the Google Play store.