While it appears that Google is getting ready to retire its Nexus program, it may still launch one or two Nexus devices before it launches its new Android Silver program. Among them has been the oft-rumoured Nexus 8 (or Nexus 9) tablet. A new image on the Google I/O 2014 website may well be showing off this unannounced device ahead of the event which will take place in late June.
Assuming that this is a legitimate device, the image in question gives us very little information about the Nexus 8. One thing though is that this tablet will not win any awards for the slimness of its bezels. There may also be a microSD card slot on the lower left side and there could be a front-facing speaker at the top (and perhaps one on the bottom?).
Past rumours have suggested that Google will leave behind the increasingly crowded 7-inch tablet space in favour of an 8-inch tablet or even 8.9-inch one (as the Nexus 9?), perhaps sporting a resolution of “more than 2K.” Also on board could be an Intel processor and Android 4.5 (Lollipop?). Whereas ASUS built the Nexus 7 tablets, it appears that HTC may have been tapped by Google to build this model.
While Google has traditionally used Google I/O to unveil new hardware, a rumour has suggested that this year’s event will focus on Google services with a separate event in July for Android 4.5 and the new Nexus tablet. While we cannot rule that out, it could also be that a Nexus 8 tablet announcement will take place at Google I/O with availability to follow in July.
With rumours so far having painted a very unclear picture, it’s best to take this latest image with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Sources : Google I/O // PhoneArena