Reports are surfacing that confirms Google is going to name two of their newest devices the Nexus 6 and Nexus 8 - both of which share the rumored release date within 2014.
On Tuesday, German Android site, SmartDroid.de posted screenshots taken from Chromium Code Review that listed the Nexus 6 and Nexus 8 devices by name. The information does not however confirm the rumored specs for both devices. It is commonly believed that the Nexus 6 is based on the LG G3, while the Nexus 8 will be the successor to Google's Nexus 7 flagship device. Some speculation suggests that the Nexus 8 will have the fabled Android 4.5 software installed. At this point in time though, the Android 4.5 only exists within the realm of fan imagination and the rumor mill.
This is not the first time small tidbits of information from Google were leaked on Chrome tracking sites. Just last week, the rumor mill was abuzz over information posted on Myce that revealed Google was testing a device codenamed "flounder." The information was apparently obtained using Chromium issue tracker, a Google-owned site used to tracks bugs on Chrome.
The discovery by SmartDroid.de poses the interesting question of why Google did not refer to the two devices by codename. It is no secret that Google internally refers to its prototypes by codename much the same way the military assigns names to projects.
The Nexus 10, for example, was codenamed "manta" in homage to manta rays, while the Nexus 5 was called "hammerhead" in reference to hammerhead sharks. Galaxy Nexus, the result of a joint Google-Samsung venture, was codenamed "tuna". Google does not however always reference marine biology when codenaming devices. In one case, Google referred to the Nexus 7 as "razor" during the development phase.
Rumors point to the Nexus 8 tablet being unveiled this summer, while the Nexus 6 smartphone will not be ready until fall.
