Google Nexus 6 to be unveiled later this month alongside Nexus 9

The Nexus 6 will be Google's largest smartphone - not much more than an inch smaller than the Nexus 7 tablet (pictured above)

Google is reportedly preparing to unveil a new flagship Android smartphone with a 5.9-inch display that’s bigger even than the iPhone 6 Plus.

The phablet-sized Nexus 6 will continue Google’s line of Nexus devices, which have racked up only small sales but are beloved of Android fans for offering the company’s mobile operating system without manufacturer-added software.

The 5.9-inch display would make the Nexus 6 one of the largest devices on the market, larger than both Samsung’s current flagship (the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 4) and Apple’s foray into phablets (the iPhone 6 Plus has a screen size of 5.5 inches).

Although many European and US customers remain sceptical about large screen devices, their global popularity has been buoyed by success in Asian Pacific regions, where smartphones are the primary computing device.

It’s also thought that Google could unveil a new Nexus tablet at the same event later this month, with the rumoured Nexus 9 offering an 8.9 display as well as a quad-HD display and a superfast Tegra K1 mobile processor.