The new high-end smartphone will be launched next year

Dec 3, 2014 12:37 GMT  ·  By

Motorola is reportedly preparing a new smartphone that could compete with Google’s Nexus 6, which is also manufactured by the US-based company.

However, the new handset will be a major upgrade over the Nexus 6 in terms of specs. The only downside would be the fact that it will be exclusively available in the US through Verizon Wireless.

The rumored DROID smartphone is expected to arrive next year. The official announcement could go live as early as mid-2015, which is set to kick off in early January.

According to DroidForums, new info coming from insider sources claims Motorola is currently working on a new phablet likely to use the same chassis as the Nexus 6 does.

This means that it will boast a similar 5.9-inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixels) resolution display, but the insides will be pretty much different.

The cited source reports that the next DROID device to be released at Verizon will be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset inside and no less than 4GB of RAM. In addition, the smartphone will be powered by a 4,000 mAh battery.

Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, Motorola fans in the United States will have to wait until Q2-Q3 2015 in order to get the next high-end DROID smartphone from Verizon.

No additional details on the unannounced DROID’s specs have been leaked and the ones that popped up today do not seem out of the ordinary either.

The leaker also says that while the high-end smartphone is likely to end up as a DROID device, Motorola’s main focus is to launch a non-Nexus branded alternative with better specs than Google’s flagship handset.

The DROID phablet may be launched internationally soon after its debut at Verizon

None of the specs leaked by the insider seems surprising, as next year we will certainly see Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset in almost all flagship smartphones launched on the market.

The only issue would be whether or not this rumored Motorola phablet will eventually make it to other countries or will end up as an exclusive for Verizon Wireless customers until “end of life” status.

We also believe it’s a bit too early to make any assumptions based on these rumors, as Motorola could make changes to its roadmap for 2015 anytime next year.

Motorola is clearly one of 2015’s nice surprises in the smartphone business, as the US-based company sold lots of handsets throughout the year, which was probably one of the reasons Lenovo was interested in acquiring it.

Motorola's newest DROID smartphone (6 Images)

Motorola DROID Turbo (front)
Motorola DROID Turbo (right angle)Motorola DROID Turbo (back angle)
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