AT&T Unveils 'Shamu' Google's Nexus 6 Phablet Before Google Does

It looks like AT&T is jumping the gun on Google's upcoming Nexus 6 smartphone, the one dubbed "Shamu" for its enormous, 5.9-inch screen. The carrier is showing the phone for sale on its website, hours before it's expected to be unveiled by Google.

The Nexus 6 could be announced Wednesday alongside the Nexus 9 tablet and the Android L operating system, but if AT&T’s obvious -- or intentional? -- slipup is any indication, customers now know at least one place where they can purchase the Nexus 6 once it's available.

Take a look at AT&T’s product page for the LG G3 Vigor; scroll down, and under the “People also viewed” section on the right-hand side there should be a listing for the Motorola Nexus 6, priced at $49.99 with a two-year contract. Notably, the accompanying phone image is not the Nexus 6 but rather an LG device, and clicking the listing does not take you to the Nexus 6 product page but rather to the AT&T landing page for all Motorola products.

We can still take away two very important details from this “leak.” The Nexus 6 is real, and it is in fact developed by Motorola. The price information may not be accurate, considering that Nexus devices have sold for at least $149.99 on-contract, at launch. Off-contract prices for Nexus devices usually start at $349, but it's not known whether the phone's rumored increase in size will affect its price.

The Nexus 6 is expected to include a 5.9-inch display, making it Google’s first phablet smartphone. In addition to a host of updated internal hardware, the Nexus 6 will likely take design cues from Motorola’s recently launched Moto X (2014) smartphone and should also run the Android L operating system, which may be called Android 5.0 Lollipop or Android 5.0 Licorice.