All the Google Nexus rumors so far have indicated we will soon see two smartphones made by HTC, codenamed Marlin and Sailfish. Given that Huawei released the best Nexus device ever last year, I was surprised it was not being given another chance to shine.

It turns out that Huawei may indeed also release a Google Nexus device this year.

Photos appeared Friday showing a Huawei device with the codes H1621 and H1622. The Nexus 6P had codes of H1511 and H1512, and it sported a 3,100 mAh battery and rear fingerprint sensor.

Most of the photos are internal shots of the device, but one photo of the back does not show any Nexus branding. The shot of the back shows a brushed metal finish. It's possible this is just another Huawei Android smartphone.

Last year, we saw two Nexus designs, while all previous Nexus releases only had one model available. As Google moves away from the Nexus being a phone designed just for developers, it is possible there could be three models available. The two rumored HTC Nexus phones may be the exact same, except for the display size. A Huawei variation could offer some differentiation like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P from last year.

I attended the Google Nexus event in California last September, and as we approach the end of summer, the rumors are heating up. We also heard this week that Google might launch in 2016 its own Android Wear smartwatches with Google Assistant. We have yet to see any rumors of a successor to the Google Pixel C, but stay tuned as we approach September.

Further ZDNet Google Nexus coverage