The company has built three Nexus handsets so far, the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and last year’s Nexus 5X. That being said, there are rumors to suggest that this year’s Nexus could be built by HTC and if the rumors are to be believed, it seems that one of the handset’s features could be none other than a 3D Touch-like display, which is essentially a pressure sensitive screen.
Apple introduced 3D Touch to its smartphone in 2015 with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Other companies like Huawei also have similar devices, so the idea of HTC incorporating the feature into its Nexus handset would not really be a stretch. Of course whether or not the rumors are true remains to be seen, but there have been several rumors suggesting that pressure sensitive displays could be a big thing in 2016.
As far as HTC and Google’s relationship are concerned, both companies worked on the first ever Nexus handset, and HTC also made the Nexus 9, so for HTC to work on 2016’s Nexus does seem possible. Unfortunately it is unclear as to whether or not HTC will be working alone as there are rumors that Huawei could be back, but there are also rumors that HTC could be making two Nexus handsets, so until then take it with a grain of salt.