Nokia gets in the phablet game with the 6-inch, Full HD ‘Bandit’

If you’re already excited about the prospect of the Windows Phone update which will add support for 1080p screen resolutions and quad-core processors, here’s a rumor you’re going to love: Nokia is already hard at work preparing a phone using both these features. The Verge leaked the device, which apparently goes by the codename Bandit, and states the phone will have a massive 6-inch screen.

According to anonymous sources, the Bandit is a Windows Phone device with a 6-inch, 1080p screen and a quad-core Snapdragon processor, and the phone is currently undergoing tests with AT&T. The new phone apparently won’t share the Lumia 925’s aluminum chassis, but instead it will be made from polycarbonate, like the Lumia 920. However, it’s mentioned the phone will still be thin and light, two words which don’t describe the 920.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Nokia’s big-screen plans. Back in April, a report in the Financial Times laid out several future Nokia phone releases, including the Lumia 925 and the Lumia 1020. It also talked about a device to challenge the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which was described to it as being the most innovative model in Nokia’s 2013 range. We’d imagine we’re now hearing more about it.

So when’s it coming? Well, it needs Microsoft’s GDR3 Windows Phone update to be finished first. A previous Verge report states the software should be complete by mid-September, after which we’ll see the announcement of Nokia’s new Windows Phone hardware before the end of 2013. In addition to the high-res screens and quad-core chips, the GDR3 update could add another column of Live Tiles to the Start screen, to make better use of space on devices with big screens.

The Nokia Bandit is just one of several new pieces of hardware expected from Nokia over the coming months, with the similarly large Lumia 825 recently leaked, along with continued talk of a Nokia tablet running Windows RT 8.1. Nokia has spread its releases out this year, so patience may be needed, as we may not see them all announced at once.