In the midst of zealous Android fans going berserk over the arrival of Google's latest operating system, Android 7.0 Nougat, the search engine giant is rolling out the latest OS for its highly-lauded Nexus lineup, the General Mobile 4G and the Google Pixel C. Rumors are running rampant that the imminent Nexus smartphones will hit the store shelves with Android 7.1 N rather than Android 7.0 N.

If rumors doing rounds online are anything to go by, the next version of the Google operating system will make an appearance soon, most likely with the HTC-made Nexus Marlin and Nexus Sailfish. The speculation stems from an evidence shared by an unidentified application developer on Reddit who claimed that more than 100 of its users are now on Android 7.1 Nougat.

The app developer posted a screenshot of the stat page for one of the apps on IMGUR to bear out his claim. The screenshot shows 115 installation of Android 7.1 and revealed 4 installations of Android O.

The developer allegedly knew that the Android 7.1 would be coming sooner than people thought, but also noted that Android O's appearance wasn't expected.

Further establishing the developer's claim, few tech publications reported that the upcoming Nexus Marlin and Nexus Sailfish would release with Android 7.1 N out of the box. This would be the first maintenance release for the new operating system (i.e the Maintenance Release 1 or MR1). This new update is slated to bring a couple of new features, which are currently under wraps.

Meanwhile another insider Nathan Benis said that Android 7.1 is likely to make an appearance around the same time as last year. Apparently, the current version of Android N being delivered to available Nexus devices is based on Developer Preview 5 and does not boast any of the alleged proprietary features they have been leaking previously.

It is speculated that the missing features will be included in the upgraded version of the software.

Aside from the redesigned Android home button, the anticipated features include Google Assistant and the Nexus Launcher. Those who are subscribed to the Android Beta program are likely to get the MR1 release before the general public. However, this isn't confirmed yet, according to VineReport.

In terms of specifications, the Sailfish sports a 5-inch screen with a 1080p resolution. Marlin, on the other hand, will be comparatively bigger version and will feature a mammoth 5.5-inch Quad HD display.

Under the hood, both devices are said to pack identical components including the Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 4 GB of RAM.

As far as storage capacity is concerned, the Sailfish will be up for grabs with a base 16 GB model and a 32 GB variant.

The Marlin will come with a higher 32 GB base model and a 128 GB version. Moreover, the devices are likely to differ in battery capacity as the former has 2,770 mAh while the latter will be powered by a robust 3,450 mAh battery.

The Google Nexus 2016 smartphones are expected to hit the store shelves this October, with a price tag of $449 and $599, respectively.

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Tags Google, Google Nexus 2016, HTC, Marlin, Sailfish, Android 7.0 Nougat, Android 7.1 Nougat