Google is reportedly preparing to unveil a new flagship Android smartphone with a 5.9-inch display that’s bigger even than the iPhone 6 Plus.

The phablet-sized Nexus 6 will continue Google’s line of Nexus devices, which have racked up only small sales but are beloved of Android fans for offering the company’s mobile operating system without manufacturer-added software.

The 5.9-inch display would make the Nexus 6 one of the largest devices on the market, larger than both Samsung’s current flagship (the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 4) and Apple’s foray into phablets (the iPhone 6 Plus has a screen size of 5.5 inches).

Although many European and US customers remain sceptical about large screen devices, their global popularity has been buoyed by success in Asian Pacific regions, where smartphones are the primary computing device.

In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Japan Blue T-shirt-clad staff open the door of the Apple Store for a few hundred people waiting outside in this upscale Tokyo neighborhood of Omotesando for the long-awaited new pair of iPhones - iPhone 6 and its larger variant iPhone 6 Plus Iphone 6 Launch in Tokyo In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Japan Ken Miyauchi, left, vice president of Softbank, Japanese mobile phone company hugs the first customer of iPhone 6 during a ceremony to mark the first day of sales of the new Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at a store in Tokyo In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale UK A member of the public celebrates at the launch of the iPhone 6 at the Apple store Covent Garden in London In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale USA Joseph Cruz (R) shows his phone to Moon Ray (C) an another man while waiting in line for the iPhone 6 to go on sale outside the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York City In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale France Customer Sylvain leaves an Apple store with boxes as the new iPhone 6 goes on sale in Paris In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Germany Sales assistants prepare new Apple iPhone 6 phones and other Apple products at the Apple Store on the first day of sales of the new phone in Berlin In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Germany First customer Max, 20, jumps in joy with new mobile phones in his hands during the launch of the Apple iPhone 6 sale at a store in Oberhausen In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Germany People prepare to enter the Apple Store at 8am on the first day of sales of the new Apple iPhone 6 in Berlin In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Singapore Singaporean law student Bjorn Tan (L) takes a self photograph with his mother Wendy Heng (R) with his newly purchased iPhone 6 during its launch by Singtel, Singapore telecommunication company In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale China Customers look at the new iPhones on display at the launch of the new Apple iPhone 6 and iphone 6 plus at the Apple IFC store in Hong Kong In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Australia Customers wait in line to purchase the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models as they go on sale at the Apple store in Sydney In pictures: iPhone 6 goes on sale Australia Customers inspect iPhone 6 acessories at a Telstra Store in Sydney

Shipments of phablets have rocketed in recent years, with the devices accounting for 1 per cent of global sales in 2011 up to 24 per cent this year, according to data from researchers Strategy Analytics. In addition to the larger screen, older rumours suggest that the Nexus 6 will offer a quad-HD display (the same as LG’s G3 phablet) as well as 3GB of RAM and a quad-core 2.6GHz processor.