It’s already the middle of October and we’ve seen the rumors, we’ve seen the leaks, but we have yet to see or hear of the official word regarding the highly anticipated Nexus 6 device. It’s been a bumpy road for Nexus fans this year given that there was once the very real possibility that there might not even be a Nexus 6 device this year, but as more leaks and rumors surface it looks more and more like the possibility of a Nexus 6 is the real deal once again.

Still, without any official word we’re left to our imaginations when it comes to what the Nexus 6 actually is. With a name like "Nexus 6" or a codename like “Shamu” (the name of some very famous orca whales) you have to expect something big - perhaps something along the lines of a 6-inch phone? With phablets getting larger with each passing year, and the Nexus 5 measuring in with a 5-inch screen last year, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched if Google were to release a Nexus device with a 6-inch screen.

With that possibility in mind, I kind of hope that Google takes a hint from Apple’s approach to bringing in a significantly larger display - which means releasing a more moderately sized phone along with it.

At this point you have two different types of people in the smartphone world: those who want big and those who want bigger. Going, going, gone are the days of the “perfect” 3.5-inch iPhone display; gone are the days of the “giant” 4.3-inch smartphones like the EVO. Officially, a “phablet” is considered any phone with a 5-inch screen or larger. Even then, you’ll have trouble finding people who want anything smaller than a 4-4.5 inch display these days. Big phones are the “in” thing right now, but I still think that it’s very possible to have a phone that’s too big. Especially with a prospective 6-inch display - measuring even larger than the notoroiously large Samsung Galaxy Note phones, and dangerously close to the largest Samsung Galaxy Mega phones - I feel like there would almost have to be a smaller option in order to make the Nexus successful.

I think that’s just the transition we’re in now. You can’t have everybody’s “perfect” size of smartphone, so you might as well offer one on each end of the spectrum. Also, a Nexus mini wouldn’t be such a bad idea as long as Google (and Motorola?) can follow the same example that Sony’s set: make the mini as close to the original as possible. We’ve seen that packing some of those massive specs in a smaller frame is completely possible, and in Sony’s case can even come out to be a seemingly more popular product than the original. That just goes to show that there really is a demand for both larger and smaller phones.

If I had to guess, I would imagine that if we haven’t heard about it yet, a Nexus 6 “mini” probably isn’t in the works right now. Even if it’s not, it’s still an idea that I think Google might want to go for next year as long as A.) Nexus is still around and B.) The screen is going to be as big as we think it will be. It very well may end up that this year’s Nexus is just a little larger than the Nexus 5 (although with a codename like Shamu, I can’t imagine that being so).

Readers, what are your thoughts on a Nexus “mini”? Do you think Google should offer two different sized devices to appease more than one audience, or should the Nexus line just stick with one phone per year?

Images via The Westside Story, Phandroid