• AT&T is rolling out Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow for Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.

AT&T is rolling out Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow for Samsung Galaxy Tab S2. (Photo : YouTube/ Waqar Khan)

Even as Google is set to reveal the juicy details on Nexus 2016 at the I/O developers gathering in May the wait for the device is not expected to end soon. Actual release date of the next Nexus flagship phone will not happen until September this year or even later.

Thankfully for many Android fans holding out need not to be an option as there are tempting alternatives out there - some could match what Google's Nexus will offer or better yet, most could even surpass. Consider the list below:

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Galaxy Note 6

Perhaps the most compelling option is Samsung's sixth phablet flagship - the Galaxy Note 6 that will be the latest installment of the device that started the jumbo smartphone craze. This early, all indications point to a Note 6 package that is far better than the Galaxy S6, which currently is considered as the best Android smartphone around.

The display, stretched diagonally at 5.8-inch, remains Super AMOLED and the mighty duo of SD 820 and 6GB of RAM fire up the device. There are even rumors that Samsung will make a muscle car out of the Note 6 by bumping it up with Snapdragon 823 and up to 8GB RAM, which essentially places a pocket desktop at the hands of users.

But the most exciting thing about the Galaxy Note 6 is the specter of an advanced unboxing, as early as July 2016 and with a lean but mean form of Android N running the show.

Huawei P9

Huawei has been making name for its elegant, premium and solid mobile devices - all embodied in the Nexus 6P and 2016 and carried over with the Huawei P9. By extension, the device is a Nexus 2016 save the layered Android and everything about the P9 is the utmost definition of flagship, inside and out.

Reviewers are quick to conclude that with the Huawei P9, users have a DSLR toy on their pocket, sufficient enough to look beyond the next Nexus.

Meizu Pro 6

If the iPhone will become an Android the result is the new Meizu Pro 6. Slim like the iPhone and sleek as any flagship ought to be. Early reviewers said that the Pro 6 is the best fix for Android fans infatuated with the iPhone. With the Meizu handset, there is no need to switch as the Pro 6 is an iPhone case with an Android setting.

For good measure, Meizu thought it wise to render 3D Touch on the Pro 6, thus getting ahead of a feature that Android N and the next Nexus will soon present.

HTC 10

The HTC 10 could very well be the next Nexus. The build is gorgeous and solid at the same time, device qualities that Google said should be part of the Nexus 2016. And there's the HTC 10 camera that experts said has managed to equal the best camera smartphone around, the Galaxy S7 that is. Again, this is one killer feature that Google dreams for its upcoming Nexus.

Lastly, HTC highlights the fact that Android on the 10 is as pure as Android can be. There is no question that with the HTC 10 package around, forgetting about the Nexus 2016 release date is easier than ever.