Taking the cue from Google Android chief Sundar Pichai, the likely Nexus 6 release date is coming in October 2014 at the earliest, which is keeping with the in-placed device upgrade cycle that the tech giant has been observing since the Nexus 4.

Pichai has made clear during the MWC 2014 last February that the next Nexus smartphone will not touchdown until the second half of the year, dousing cold water to speculations that the could be unleashed as early as June or July.

And while the Google executive kept his lips zipped on the supposed specs and features that will be unwrapped with the Nexus 6, six of them are somewhat clear to Android watchers - thanks mostly to the wealth of leaks and even clues offered by the phone's immediate predecessor, which is the Nexus 5.

They are briefly discussed below:

The builder

LG is the default Nexus 6 maker as the South Korean company had already established a fine track record by delivering good results with the Nexus 4 and 5. However, the picture was muddled a bit when Lenovo and Motorola joined in the fray on the account of the former snatching the latter's ownership from Google.

Yet until now, Lenovo-Motorola has yet to show a base-model for the next Nexus while LG has proudly revealed two possible templates for the device - the LG G Pro 2, which will be the mould if Google would the Nexus 6 to hit the market as a phablet, and LG G3, which is the successor to the LG G2, the device that became the basis for the Nexus 5 make.

Design and display

As mentioned above, there is a chance the Nexus 6 will compete with the likes of Galaxy Note 3 and Nokia 1020 if the pattern is the G Pro 2. But if Google plans for a regular device with a relatively wide screen endowment, the G3 is also a perfect fit.

Notwithstanding the screen size, the upcoming Nexus will certainly flash a form-factor that is aligned with the 2014 flagship smartphone standard - thin, light and bezel-free front panel.

As for the display attributes, talks are rife that the Nexus will sport a 2K screen resolution that is further amplified with Quad HD display rendering.

The component muscles inside

From a quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip, the Nexus 6 is seen to jump into the 64-bit octa-core bandwagon and the powerhouse that normally gets nominated for this is either the Snapdragon 805 or 810. Both of these behemoths are up for mass production and availability beginning in July 2014, per the indications last furnished by Qualcomm.

Automatically joining in the fun is the latest Adreno graphic engine and since 64-bit mobile computing is making its way to the Android world, RAM provisions that start at 4GB could be the prevailing standard.

Killer camera hardware and software

Even before the Nexus 5, Google has already declared that it intends to deploy camera functions and capabilities will all its Nexus devices. However, reviewers observed that the fifth-gen Nexus phone largely falls short of expectations.

So vast improvements should be in order for Nexus 6, which could mean the stuffing of great shooting features like optical image stabilisation, bigger and faster lens or even the likelihood of up to 16MP rear cam shooter. Likely bonuses would be camera app enhancements that basically mirror the camera offering seen in the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One (M8).

Fresh Android on the menu

Each time a new Nexus is pushed out by Google, the package comes with the latest Android sweets. Rumour has it that the Nexus 6 will introduce either Android 4.5 or 5.0, which blog reports have been labelling in the following - Lollipop, Lion Bar or Key Lime Pie.

Still attractive pricing

While there are chatters that suggest Google would be forced to sell the Nexus 6 at a higher price mark, observers are firmly convinced that the device will not breached the $400 mark for the 16GB model that comes too with LTE access.

Considering that the general specs and features of the Nexus 6 on release date remain in the top-notch level, the price hike is completely justifiable and is more inviting when compared to the unlocked iPhones and Galaxy smartphones that normally retail for $700 and above.