There will be one Google smartphone flagship set for a grand release date this year, a new report, and it will be the LG-manufactured Nexus 5.

The internet search giant has handed over the steering wheel of the X-Phone to its subsidiary, Motorola Mobility, according to a new report published by blog site Android Guys. It appears that Google grew frustrated with the Motorola handset development, deeming the undertaking as not innovative enough, the report added.

The source of the story is an analyst from China named Sun Changxu. Ms Changxu revealed that Google has abandoned the project, apparently disappointed with the shortfalls encountered in putting together what it envisioned originally as a game-changing smartphone.

But the analyst quickly clarified that the Motorola X-Phone remains on course for release date this year, possibly in August. Google's withdrawal will only mean that the main entity to steer the project to completion would be Motorola.

The backtracking move also translates into the likelihood that the upcoming X-Phone is no longer an exclusive Google gadget. This explains the recent leaked images of the smartphone that showed U.S. carrier AT&T having a prominent role on its scheduled American market debut.

The report seems to back recent rumours that Google and LG have agreed on a new partnership that would produce the Nexus 5, a follow up on the Nexus 4 that gained immediate popularity on its release but faltered due to supply chain issues.

With the shift of focus, it is more likely that it is the LG Nexus 5 that will access the first latest Android make that analysts said will be unveiled via the annual I/O Developers Conference, set for staging a few weeks from now.

Google, however, has kept its silence on the matter and there are no clear indications if the smartphone will be unwrapped through the same event. It is the Nexus 7 that will be introduced by Google during the gathering, KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo said in a new note.

The Nexus 5, nonetheless, will be a recipient of the new stock Android build that the Google event will surely let out. It could be Jelly Bean 4.3 or Key Lime Pie, according to conflicting reports.