Information pertaining to Google's next-generation Nexus smartphones continues to leak. A new render of the 5.5-inch HTC Nexus Marlin has surfaced and provides an early look at Google's next flagship smartphone that will also serve as the launch device for Android 7.0 Nougat.

Over the last couple of years, Google has used some of its high-profile Android licensees to build its stable of Nexus smartphones. HTC designed Google's first smartphone, the Nexus One, which was released in January 2010 and ran Android 2.1 Eclair.

Samsung followed with a two-year run with the Nexus S in December 2010 to coincide with the launch of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and the following year with the Galaxy Nexus, which shipped with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

LG got the chance to manufacture the Nexus 4, which ran Android 4.2 Jelly Bean in 2012 and the Android 4.4 KitKat-based Nexus 5 in 2013.

Google turned to Motorola in 2014 to build its six-inch Nexus 6, which ran Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.

Huawei and LG partnered with Google to build the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X in 2015, and the smartphones were the first devices to run Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

It's been widely reported that Google has partnered with HTC once again, and the company is expected to build both of Google's Android 7.0 Nougat-based smartphones, which are rumored to launch in the coming weeks.

The HTC Nexus smartphones are codenamed "Sailfish" and "Marlin" and have already made appearances on various benchmarking sites, where some of their key specs were detailed. In early July, the first render of the smartphones was posted online and shared a design influenced by the HTC 10.

Now, a new render of one of HTC's Nexus smartphones has been leaked, and it's the 5.5-inch Nexus Marlin. As you can see in the image above, the handset will feature an aluminum case that resembles the design of the HTC 10. The Nexus logo is emblazoned on the rear, below the handset's fingerprint scanner and camera.

The HTC Nexus Marlin is expected to include a 12 megapixel rear camera and 8 megapixel front-facing camera. A recently-leaked image of the smartphone in a protective case revealed it will be offered in a 128 GB storage option, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and come with 4 GB of RAM.

Google will reportedly unveil its 2016 Nexus smartphones in late September or October to coincide with the launch of Android 7.0 Nougat.

As always, we'll keep you posted on any new HTC Nexus details as they become available.