The excitement surrounding the release of the latest Google operating system - Android 7.0 Nougat - is palpable. Even as Google rolls out the latest OS for its Nexus lineup, the Google Pixel C and the General Mobile 4G, rumors are rife that the upcoming Nexus smartphones will come preloaded not with Android 7.0, but Android 7.1 Nougat.

According to new speculations, the next version of the Google OS, Android 7.1 Nougat, is slated to release soon, allegedly alongside the HTC-made Nexus Marlin and Nexus Sailfish.

Fueling the conjectures is evidence shared by an anonymous application developer on Reddit, who revealed that 115 of its users are currently on Android 7.1 Nougat.

The app developer also posted a screenshot of the stats page for one of the apps on Reddit to support his assertion. The screenshot showed off 115 installations of Android 7.1 and 4 installations of Android O.

"Noticed these interesting statistics for one of my apps this morning ...115 of my users are already on 7.1 and 4 of them are on Android O (which I'm assuming are Googlers). I knew 7.1 would be coming sooner than we thought but I'm surprised about Android O though!" shared the app developer.

This post was followed by another user - who claimed to be an employee at XDA - posting a screenshot that reflected website visits from the new OS. The screenshot showed 162 and 105 hits from Android 7.1 and other devices on Android 7.1.1, respectively.

"I work at XDA and we are also seeing some action for Android 7.1, as well as 7.1.1, 7.1.2. Cannot find any Android O, though," noted the redditor.

David Ruddock of Android Police also shared that the impending Nexus Marlin and Nexus Sailfish smartphones would come with Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box, which would be the first maintenance release for the new OS (the Maintenance Release 1 or MR1).

Looks like the new Nexus phones will launch with Android 7.1, which is now confirmed to be Nougat's MR1 release.

— David Ruddock (@RDR0b11) August 23, 2016

Nate Benis, the man behind the Nexus Launcher leak, also opined that the impending Nexus smartphones will be unveiled along with the Android 7.1 Nougat - the MR1.

"Google's announcements today of doing quarterly maintenance releases leads me to believe the upcoming Nexus devices are going to be launched alongside MR1. Probably around the same time they were last year," said Benis in a Google+ post.

Google has already promised that the Developer preview for Nougat MR1 will be made available in fall this year. Therefore, the possibility of the Nexus Marlin and Nexus Sailfish coming with Android 7.1 Nougat in tow does not seem far-fetched.

What new features or enhancements will Android 7.1 Nougat bring you ask? That presently remains shrouded in mystery!