Not too long ago, rumors began surfacing about this year’s Nexus. Albeit it’s still early in the year and Google typically reveals the Nexus sometime late in the fall, rumors have already strongly suggested that HTC may be the creator of at least one Nexus phone this year.

Taking the rumor with a grain of salt (as most rumors should be taken), I actually felt that this would be a good time for HTC to make another Nexus. HTC has been in a slump for the past few years, and I thought Nexus could help boost morale for HTC. Although Nexus is still a niche product, it is a very important device that smartphone enthusiasts look forward to each year – and a good first step towards gaining widespread recognition is being able to impress said enthusiasts, as these are the people who are going to write the reviews that people watch and read about before making a decision to purchase a phone. 

When these rumors surfaced, the HTC 10 had yet to make an appearance. Many seemed to have lost faith in HTC due to the disappointment that the HTC One M9 was last year, but if there’s one thing I know about HTC it’s that they’re good at making comebacks. With HTC 10 on the horizon and the possibility of HTC also making a Nexus later this year, I ended up putting a lot of faith in the hopes that this year would be a good one for one of my favorite manufacturers.

Now that the HTC 10 is official (and looks pretty darn good on paper) I feel even more strongly about HTC making a Nexus later this year. With the much-needed upgrade to the UltraPixel camera, minimal bloatware, a redesigned UI, and a slightly refreshed (but still lovely) design, the HTC 10 is an all-around excellent device. Assuming that all goes smoothly with the launch and real world reviews reflect our initial impressions, the HTC hype train could very well carry itself all the way into autumn when, just maybe, we might see an HTC Nexus as well.

I don’t think these rumors are unwarranted. In fact, if anything, the launch of the HTC 10 fueled this rumor when HTC mentioned that they “worked closely with Google” to bring a more minimal experience with the latest version of HTC Sense. Who else works closely with Google? Companies making a Nexus device. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched for HTC to grab some ideas on how to improve their own flagship while simultaneously working on a Nexus for Google. And while HTC’s last Nexus device (Nexus 9 tablet) may have been less than ideal at the time, as I previously mentioned, HTC has a way of learning from past mistakes and bouncing back – even if it might take a couple of tries.

This year stands to be a very good year for HTC. They’re certainly off to a good start with the HTC 10, and now I think people will have more faith if HTC truly were to make the next Nexus device.  Either way, Nexus or no Nexus (but hopefully Nexus), let’s just hope that HTC can keep a good thing going consistently for more than a couple of years without any major stumbles.