Android 5.2 has already been spotted on the Nexus 5

Is Google already testing Android 5.2? Photo: Google

Is Google already testing Android 5.2? Photo: Google

Google may still be sitting on its Android 5.1 Lollipop update, but someone, somewhere, is already running Android 5.2 on a Nexus 5.

The software was spotted in Geekbench benchmark results, and it indicates the Google isn’t slowing it down when it comes to addressing problems and bringing new features to its latest Android operating system.

Since it first rolled out Android 5.0 last November, Google has already issued Android 5.0.1 and Android 5.0.2 updates — mostly to address bugs. The company is also close to releasing Android 5.1, which is already shipping on some Android One devices and brings a number of new features.

While it may seem unlikely that the search giant is already testing Android 5.2 — before Android 5.1 has reached even its own Nexus devices — it’s certainly possible that a small few at Google are already testing it.

If this update adds new features or makes other significant changes, it will need plenty of testing before it makes its way into public hands. What’s interesting, though, is that the software is being used on a Nexus 5, rather than the latest Nexus 6.

It’s also possible that this isn’t Android 5.2 at all, but rather a Nexus 5 running a custom ROM that is incorrectly reporting its software version — perhaps intentionally in the hope that it will be spotted by someone, and generate some speculation.

Google will certainly release Android 5.2 at some point — we can be certain of that, but we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s as close as these benchmarks would lead us to believe.