Over the weekend, the Android rumor mill churned out the biggest news so far in the lead-up to the Nexus 5: a leaked draft of the KitKat-powered smartphone’s service manual. The 281-page document reveals everything about the handset’s inner workings, but fails to shed light on a release date or price.
The purported service manual was posted to digital library Scribd, then brought to the attention of Android Police via an anonymous tipster. The LG-branded document is marked “internal use only” and refers to model “LG-D821.” Teardown photos show the Nexus 7-style branding on the back case – matching the device spotted in the now infamous video of the Android KitKat statue unveiling at Google HQ.
Last month, FCC authorization for an LG smartphone called the “LG-D820” led to speculation that is was the upcoming Nexus 5. Many of the specs listed in the FCC filing, such as the display and CPU, match those found in the alleged service manual.
As initially reported, the LG Nexus 5 will feature a 4.95-inch 1080p IPS screen and a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM. Further revelations from the service manual include an 8MP rear-facing camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), a 1.3MP front-facing shooter, and a (non-removable) 2300mAh battery.
Physically, the Nexus 5 looks a lot like LG’s current flagship. “Just as [the Nexus 4] was built from the foundation laid by the LG Optimus G, the Nexus 5 seems like a mildly revamped version of LG’s G2,” reported TechCrunch.
Additionally, the new Nexus smartphone will have either 16 or 32GB of storage (dropping the 8GB option its predecessor offered), a micro SIM slot, a notification light, wireless charging, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, SlimPort compatibility and a range of sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity/ambient light and pressure).
While these specs are clearly a step up from the previous Nexus, they aren’t show-stopping by any means.
“It looks like the Nexus won’t offer anything truly innovative – it’s more of an upgrade to the Nexus 4 – but it will be the most powerful way to get a pure Android experience,” said VentureBeat. Nexus devices are also the first to receive Android updates.
While all tech leaks should be taken with a grain of salt, this one seems a bit too big (and too technical) to be an elaborate fabrication.
The two most recent Nexus smartphones – Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus and LG’s Nexus 4 – made their debut in October of 2011 and 2012 respectively. With the one-year anniversary of the Nexus 4 approaching, Google is likely to take the wraps off soon.