Google Nexus 6 update: Nexus 6 finally gets Android 7.0 Nougat

After a string of delays, the Google Nexus 6 has finally received the new Android 7.0 Nougat update.

The Nexus 6 was Google's first foray into the phablet market. PC Mag notes that while the device offers advantages for both big phones and small tablets, the Nexus 6 was not enthusiastically received. Some potential buyers shied away from the phablet, opting instead for devices that could be operated with one hand and that would fit in their pockets.

Google's flagship phablet, which was released back in November 2014, is the sixth device launched by the Google Nexus series. The Google Nexus 6 has since been followed by the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P, both of which were released in September 2015.

Google announced that it would roll out Nougat for its older Nexus gadgets back in August, confirming that the Nexus 6 will get the update in a matter of weeks. But the release of the update for the device was delayed for more than a month.

While Google did not reveal the reason for the delay, The Inquirer suggests that Android 7.0 Nougat may have drawn excessive battery power from the device.

Fortunately, the company appears to have overcome this hurdle. Earlier this week, Google released a Nougat factory image with a flashable OTA file. The Inquirer reports that some Nexus 6 users have confirmed their devices received the over-the-air update.

The recent rollout of Android 7.0 Nougat for the Google Nexus 6 came just ahead of Google's launch of the Google Pixel and the Google Pixel XL, the new lineup of smartphones that replaced Google's Nexus series.

Android 7.0 Nougat has yet to be released for the Google Nexus 9, the 9-inch tablet Google released in October 2014. The Nexus 5 smartphone and the Nexus 7 tablet will not be able to support Nougat.