The Google Nexus 5 smartphone is taking its time getting to the light of day, but it just took a huge step in that direction. A fully assembled LG Nexus 5 was spotted at the FCC.
The LG-built Google Nexus 5 had already seemingly appeared at the FCC, as well as Bluetooth SIG, under the code names LG-D820 and LG-D821. But after months and months of confirmations and disconfirmations about whether the handset would be built by LG or Motorola, hopes were dashed when skeptics said the devices on offer were only different variants of the LG G2.
Well, it turned out that the skeptics were wrong, for once, as PhoneScoop got a big scoop today, finding some more photos hanging around the FCC site - photos of a fully-assembled LG-built device that looks exactly like the Google Nexus 5 spotted in Google's accidental Nexus 5-leaking Android 4.4 KitKat promo ad. The photos and details were found under new documents, referring to ZNF-VS-980, which looks to be the Verizon model of the Nexus 5.
We know it couldn't be the LG G2, because LG Electronics featured the back of the device almost more than any other part of it, because it comes with LG's unique "Rear Key" volume rocker on the back. LG Electronics is so proud of the LG G2's rear key that they wouldn't just scrap that feature to create a variant for a specific market.
No, this appears to be the real deal. Earlier FCC filings had LTE bands for AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, so this Verizon-ready filing would complete the foursome. Earlier filings had the Nexus 5 with a Snapdragon 800 processor and a 4.96-inch screen.
For reference, the LG G2 comes with a 5.2-inch screen, but also a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, clocked at 2.26GHz. Most specs aren't known about the Nexus 5, but they're assumed to be close to the LG G2 model its based on (as Google has done in the past with Nexus phones).