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A Google logo is seen at the garage where the company was founded on Google's 15th anniversary in Menlo Park, California September 26, 2013. REUTERS

The next Google Nexus smartphone, replacing the Nexus 6, will reportedly come from China courtesy of giant firm Huawei, a new report said, though former Nexus partner LG appears to remain in solid contention. Which of the two vendors will make a better native Android phone?

In a report, Gizmo China is saying that “we are almost sure that Huawei could be the next Nexus maker. The claim was made following a Weibo post from a top executive of China’s leading market research firm. Weibo is a micro-blogging site operating from China.

The same report indicated too that three device makers were in serious consideration, namely Xiaomi, LG and Huawei. The latter got the nod from Google because it is the most established brand in mainland China.

However, LG seems not out of the race as the same site had earlier reported that “Google will also partner with LG for a new Nexus device in 2015.” What the exact device is remains a question mark but a safe bet would be a variant of the Nexus smartphone as the South Korean company is no stranger to the Nexus brand.

Before the Nexus 6 by Motorola last year, LG assembled the Nexus 4 in 2012 then the Nexus 5 in 2013 – both came out as the re-imagined versions of the company’s flagships in the mentioned years. In the event LG will reprise its role as the chosen Nexus maker it will most likely use its 2015 flagship – likely the upcoming LG G4 – as template for the pure Android smartphone.

Radically new LG G4

According to The Korea Times, LG has declared that the LG G4 will be “radically different,” at least from that of the LG G3. With the G4 as its headline device, LG is gunning to become the third biggest smartphone player in the world, behind Apple and Samsung, the report added.

As pattern for the next Nexus handset, the G4 is definitely welcome especially for hardcore Android fans that got endeared to the Nexus 4 and 5. The anticipated specs and feature upgrades that will roll out with the G4 should blend well with Google’s follow up to Android Lollipop, which is expected to power the Nexus 6 sequel.

Huawei’s take

As for Huawei, either the company will build the phone from scratch or mould its Nexus after the last year’s hit – the Huawei Ascend P7. Or the Chinese tech giant will willingly offer to Google the 2015 refresh of the Ascend P7 so as to give it up-to-date component specs.

And one thing really going for Huawei is the affordable sticker price that accompanies it range of phone products even on the upscale editions. The same is not true for LG as its high-end devices directly compete with the pricey smartphones coming from Apple and Samsung. It should be noted that Google gives premium on accessibility (read: affordability) when choosing the right candidate for its Nexus projects.

While the rumours were early heat up, the next Nexus smartphone release date is not expected from Google until the second half of 2015. Traditionally, Apple’s flagship is first to come out – this year is thought to be the iPhone 6S – then the Internet search giant follows shortly.

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