Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie Release Date: Which Phone Will Launch First With The Upcoming OS? Motorola X, Google Nexus 5, Or Samsung Galaxy Note 3?

Several devices are already slated to be upgraded to Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie upon its release, including versions of the Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1. But which device will be the first to host operating system natively? Many suggestions are currently churning the rumor mill.

The Motorola X and the Google Nexus 5 as well as the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 have all been proposed as possible maiden devices for Android 5.0. All three phones are a long way off from being released and their specs remain firmly in the realm of rumors, but each are particularly solid candidates to introduce Key Lime Pie.

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie will likely be unveiled at the Google I/O conference that takes place in San Francisco from May 15 to 17 with a release date projected for June or July. Both the Motorola X and Google Nexus 5 are expected to be launched alongside the operating system, with the Motorola X rumored for release in July while the release of the Google Nexus 5 still up for speculation.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 likely won’t be unveiled until the IFA Expo that takes place in Berlin from September 6 to 11. The “phablet” also has no concrete release date; however, its proposed timeline falls in step with it being a shoe-in to power Android 5.0 upon its release regardless of whether it’s the first phone to ship with the OS.

The Motorola X phone will most likely be the first to ship with Key Lime Pie running natively. In addition to being the most anticipated smartphone from Motorola since Google acquired the mobility in 2012, the phone most closely in step with the release of the OS.

Some also suggest the Motorola X and Google Nexus 5 may actually be the same device. The Eagle’s Rant proposed in February that the Motorola X may not be a collaboration between Motorola and Google but rather a “pure” Google phone to be called the Google Nexus X as a successor to the Google Nexus 4. The device has also been referred to as the Google X Phone.

This wouldn’t be the first time that a collaboration between Google and another company yielded a host of proposed names for a device. Several suggested names surfaced for Samsung Galaxy Nexus prior to its release. A collaboration between Google and Samsung, the device was referred to as Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Samsung Nexus Prime, the Google Nexus Prime, the Samsung Droid Prime and the Google Nexus 3 at various points before its unveiling on Oct. 19, 2011, at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked: Google Episode event that took place in Hong Kong. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus was the first device to natively run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Despite the name confusion, the X Phone remains the front runner to be the first to host Android 5.0. It is also most plausible considering the history of Android operating system and Google device dual unveilings and subsequent releases. The Google Nexus 7 tablet was the first device to ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean when it released on July 13 of last year after it was unveiled alongside the OS at Google I/O 2012 on June 27.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was the first Samsung device to ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean when it released on Sept. 16. Thereafter, the Google Nexus 4 smartphone and Google Nexus 10 tablet were the first devices to run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean when they released on Nov. 13.

If the releases of the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 are any indication, Google tends to launch its own branded phones alongside the release of its operating systems and system updates, which furthers the likelihood that a Google device will launch with Android 5.0.

A little over one month remains until the truth will be revealed. Who knows, maybe Google will release Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie alongside Google Glass.