1080p displays are the latest must-have for high-end smartphones, but you may not see one on Google’s next Nexus. According to the latest rumor concerning the Nexus 5, the device will skip a full high-definition display and instead focus on a better camera and a bigger battery.

According to a tipster for PhoneArena, the Nexus 5 will offer a 4.5-inch 720p IPS display. That’s slightly smaller than the Nexus 4’s 4.7-inch display, but it offers the same resolution, so it’ll be a little sharper. They also claim that the screen “will take up 88% of the front of the phone,” so the bezels around the edges of it will be thinner.

The device is also expected to feature a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, and a large 2,200 mAh battery. There will also be a lot of focus on its camera, which will reportedly be a 9-megapixel CCD sensor.

None of these specifications can be confirmed until Google makes them official, of course, so take them with a pinch of salt for now. However, aside from the camera, they all sound plausible.

Google’s Nexus devices have never been about groundbreaking specifications, so it’s not too surprising it would sidestep the 1080p display. Sure, 1080p displays are nice, and devices that have them look great. But who really needs one in the palm of their hand?

The bigger battery would be a great improvement, however. One of my biggest complaints about the Nexus 4 is its battery life.

• SourcePhoneArena