Photo of LG's Nexus 5 leaks online, after renders of both LG and Huawei Nexus devices surfaced over the weekend
This could be Google's new Nexus 5 smartphone, built by LG — We waved goodbye to the Nexus 5 when Google stopped selling its 2013 flagship Android smartphone earlier this year …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google retired the original Nexus 5 in March when it stopped selling the 2013 flagship, leaving a gap for fans of the affordable, LG-built reference phone. Since then, leaks have filled in the picture: reports of a 5.2-inch LG "Angler" and a 5.7-inch Huawei "Bullhead" arriving this year, followed by word that Google plans to unveil both at a San Francisco event on September 29.
This photo leak adds a physical sighting to the weekend's renders, and the two-device lineup suggests Google is splitting the Nexus line between LG and Huawei rather than repeating a single-successor play.
First-order effects
- LG gets the marquee role of building the direct successor to one of Android's most popular reference phones, while Huawei makes its first appearance as a Nexus manufacturer.
Second-order effects
- A two-vendor Nexus lineup forces reviewers, carriers, and buyers to compare LG against Huawei at different screen sizes, turning what was once a single annual choice into a segmented decision.
Third-order effects
- If Google sustains the dual-manufacturer model, the Nexus program shifts from one canonical reference device each year to a portfolio that spreads Android's flagship template across multiple partners — a structure later confirmed by retail-box leaks showing 'Nexus 5X' and 'Nexus 6P' model names.
The trend: The Nexus program is evolving from a single reference phone into a multi-partner hardware lineup, with Google using successive manufacturers like LG and Huawei to cover more price and size tiers.