Google, HTC Both Planning September 29 Phone Launches

The smartphone market is set to get a few more heavyweight entries after both Google and HTC announced launch events on September 29.

Google’s event, set to be held in San Francisco, will see the next generation of its Nexus devices revealed to the world, with two smartphones expected to be shown off.

This includes a smaller Nexus phone made by LG, alongside a larger, second device made by Huawei, with both devices set to be the first opportunity to get a glimpse of Google’s Android M software.

The latter device is rumoured to be the most powerful Nexus yet, and reportedly will be the first smartphone to be powered by Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon 820 chipset, as well as featuring a fingerprint reader and Android Pay.

Coming soon

However, the search giant may not be able to grab all the headlines that day following HTC’s announcement that it too will be holding a launch event in Hakone, Japan, on the same day.

This follows the release of a Japanese-language advert that was posted on Chinese social media site Weibo, and includes the phrase “double flagship” and “the world’s best meets the best” in English.

HTC has been rumoured to be preparing its next premium device for some time, having released its last flagship smartphone, the One M9, back at Mobile World Congress in March.

The coincidental date would pitch the Taiwanese company up against its old partner, as HTC worked with Google to build the Nexus 9 tablet, which was released last October.

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