Google Nexus 2016 Will Sport A Jaw-Dropping Design; The Reasoning Behind Google's Weird New Home Button Revealed?

Google's pure Android phones have not matched the mammoth success of the iPhone, nor have they seen the skyrocketing sales of the Samsung Galaxy flagship phones, but they still have a huge fanbase. Nexus phones come with one key advantage, swift access to Android updates, which make them cherished assets to Android users who are keen to be on the latest Android release.

Things are expected to get better for ardent Android fanatics this year as several reports hint Google's Nexus phones will be true flagship devices, augmented with an all-new design, BGR reported.

If recently surfaced leaks are anything to go by, HTC "Marlin" and "Sailfish" might come with a strange design that would blend metal with plastic. Another report indicated that the "Marlin" will be housed in metal body, the smaller "Sailfish," on the other hand, will be made of plastic.

Earlier this week, YouTube channel TechConfigurations offered an excellent video showcasing 3D renders of what the "Marlin" and "Sailfish" might look like based on earlier leaks, and now the channel has rolled out a second video clip that hints an all-metal Marlin.

In other news, details about Google's crazy new home button for Assistant on the 2016 Nexus phones have finally surfaced online in an animated GIF form via Android Police.

The publication believes the reasoning behind the home button's rather radically coloful redesign is to promote Google Assistant - probably via Now/On Tap functions - which has been teased by the search engine giant in the past using the four colored dots.

It's worth noting that the online publication dubs these reports as its basic assumption at this point.

According to the publication's source, if you turn off Google Now on the device, the aforementioned four little dots on the home button go away completely. This is enough to prove that these dots are inevitably linked to Google Now/Assistant. In order to make the dots animate, user just needs to long-press the home button.

Google has remained mum regarding the two purported Nexus smartphones and have not divulged concrete details regarding their release date.

Contrary to what optimistic fans were anticipating, Google might not release the phones in August alongside Android 7.0 Nougat. In fact the new Nexus phones might not hit the store shelves until sometime in early October.