In Depth: Nexus 6: what we want to see

The key features the Nexus 6 needs

Fans of the cutting edge vanilla Android experience were quick to fall in love with the Nexus 5. It ushered in Android 4.4 KitKat with a sexy Google Experience Launcher on top, but it wasn't perfect.
Originally imagined as reference devices to inspire original equipment manufacturers, recent Nexus smartphones have grown beyond that brief to drive down prices and raise expectations. With Play editions of flagships like the Galaxy S4 and HTC One, you could argue that we don't need Nexus phones any more, but that doesn't mean we don't want another one.
If it comes, the Nexus 6 is likely to land, like an autumn leaf, towards the end of the year. Google will definitely have to revamp the naming conventions after that, because we already have a Nexus 7.
Here's what our friendly neighbourhood search giant could do to get us excited about the Nexus 6 - the phone we expect to launch Android 5 in November..

A bigger battery

Battery life has bossed the chart of complaints in the smartphone market for years now and last year's Nexus was a major offender, with a constantly weird amount of power suckage.
Scraping through a day simply isn't good enough. If you're going to pack more and more irresistible features into a device with a gorgeous hypnotizing display, then please give it enough juice to fulfil our obsessive usage.
The days of removable batteries appear to be over, at least where the Nexus line is concerned. Battery cases are too bulky and wireless charging is far from ubiquitous. We demand a bigger battery, or much greater efficiency. Ideally we'd like a mix of the two, especially when it comes to the leaky Nexus range.

A better camera

Google made some swift adjustments to roll out an update that fixed up the Nexus 5 camera, but it's still an obvious candidate for improvement. A new version of Android should handle the software side, but the Nexus 6 is going to need to pack some decent hardware.
Nokia is the current gold standard with the 41MP-toting Lumia 1020, but the Android pack is pushing 13MP and upwards now. Of course there's more to a camera than the megapixel count, but there's a lot more than can be done here.

It would be a very pleasant surprise to get a Nexus 6 capable of taking photos that can compete with the latest iPhone and the rest of the flagship gang. We want great quality shots, but also fast performance to help us capture those precious, spontaneous moments as they happen.

A slightly bigger screen

With some clever engineering and some ruthless bezel slicing we're getting bigger displays without smartphones growing to ridiculous proportions, although phablets are now a thing. Perhaps the 6 will refer to the screen size.
Realistically 6 inches might be pushing things too far, but we could always use more screen real estate. We'd like to see the Nexus 6 creep up a touch past 5 inches without becoming unwieldy. A slight increase in screen size without additional bulk would hit the spot nicely. An edge-to-edge display has long been a dream for smartphone fans.

A 64-bit processor

Since Apple made the jump to a 64-bit processor in the iPhone 5S it's inevitable that other manufacturers will want to follow suit. It doesn't matter if there isn't much obvious short term advantage. Let's face it, we're hardly bumping up against the 4GB RAM barrier yet, but you can bet we will.
App developers and manufacturers will be able to realize the potential of this in years to come, but perception is important and that's reason enough for the Nexus 6 to need a 64-bit processor.
It's likely the next Nexus will be the poster child for the latest iteration of Android, and with version 5.0 set to be the first to support 64-bit chips, the Nexus 6 needs to be an absolute monster when it comes to power.

Dual speakers

The front-facing dual-speaker setup on the HTC One was undeniably nice and the more we consume media on our smartphones the more important it becomes to get decent sound.

The Nexus 5 had one speaker at the bottom and it was less than stellar. It's another obvious target for a spot of improvement and it would be nice if headphones weren't a requirement for enjoying music on your phone.

A new form

The LG G Flex and the Samsung Galaxy Round have begun the transition to flexible displays which will enable new form factors.
A gentle curve is not much to get excited about, and it's still probably too early for the full potential of flexible displays to be realized, but anything that takes smartphones away from the black rectangle convention could be good.

A Nexus 6 with a really interesting design and some software innovation from Google could point the way for the evolution of the smartphone, and given LG is apparently in the hot seat to make its third consecutive Nexus, this could be a winner from one of the world's biggest makers of flexible phone screens.
At the very least a kind of secondary display portion on the edge for at-a-glance functionality and controls. Maybe even a dual-screen set-up with a low energy secondary display for notifications.

Always listening

The big USP for the Moto X was the voice recognition, allowing you to issue commands to Google Now without using your hands. The idea of hands-free operation has always been hampered by the need to press something first.
If the Nexus 6 was always listening for its master's voice, we might be tempted to make better use of Google's fortune-telling digital butler.

A 2K display

Full HD with a 1920x1080 pixel resolution became the new standard for top-end Android smartphones in 2013. The next development looks likely to be 2K, with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels.
LG has shown off 2K display technology and Chinese manufacturers Vivo and Oppo have stated their intentions to release devices with 2K displays this year.

It wouldn't be a shock if the Nexus 6 brought us a new level of pixel density. It's probably too soon for 4K displays, but we're heading in that direction, and this would at least give a Nexus the headline grabbing features we love.
Of course, only if it can be done cheaply. We don't want to lose the low, low prices we've become accustomed to.

Biometric security

Face Unlock was a gimmicky feature that arrived in Android Ice Cream Sandwich. It didn't always work and it was easy to spoof with a photo but finding new ways to effortlessly, but securely, unlock your smartphone is still on the agenda.
Apple's Touch ID uses your fingerprints and there were strong rumours of a retinal scanner in the Galaxy S5, even if it never came to pass and instead offered up a boring digit scanner. If this kind of security is set to become a new standard, then you can bet the Nexus 6 should jump on board.

Indestructibility

We've seen Kevlar coating from Motorola and waterproofing from Sony and Samsung, and there's no doubt the Nexus line could stand to toughen up. You only need to glance at any Nexus 4 or Nexus 5 forum to find tales of woe from hapless owners with shattered screens.
Flexible display technology could put an end to cracked and broken screens. Waterproofing has left the rugged category behind and broken into the mainstream. A Nexus 6 that can survive a dunk and doesn't need a polycarbonate overcoat is surely on the cards.

• Want to know why your battery is rubbish... with solutions to the problem? Yeah, you do.

What do you think? Let us know below how you think Google needs to spec the Nexus 6 to make it into a winner.