Google has done well with its Nexus line, particularly the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, which delivered highNexus 7,
which did the same for slates. So it's no surprise that the company is
seemingly looking at adding another device into the mix, specifically
the Nexus 8.
end smartphone specs on a budget and both versions of the
Numerous mentions of the device, which may
be closer to 9 inches than 8, have popped up over the last few months,
alternately referring to it as the Nexus 8, Nexus 9 and Volantis, so
it's starting to look like a safe bet that it's coming in some form.
That
still leaves a lot of questions unanswered, such as when it's arriving,
how much it will cost and what its specs will be. But as more news and
rumors roll in we're picking them apart and putting them all in one
place (here) so you can learn everything there is to know about the
Nexus 8 before it's announced.
Cut to the chase
What is it? A new tablet set to fill the gap between the Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10
When is it out? Possibly August 19, failing that October or November
What will it cost? Around £275 / $464 / AU$498 is our best guess
Nexus 8 release date and price
We
were hoping that the Nexus 8 might show up at Google I/O, but, er, it
didn't. HTC is believed to be behind the tablet, but we've yet to see a
date when it might show up. Either way, it will probably be Google's
event, not HTC's.
No other possible release dates have been put forward but if not August perhaps we'll see it alongside the Nexus 6,
which itself is rumored for an October or November debut. A tablet
codenamed the HTC 'Flounder' has made its way through Wi-Fi
certification, and has been listed with different SKUs (unique model
identifiers) that mean it will probably come in both Wi-Fi and 4G
flavors as usual.
We're guessing on the price too, but it's likely to fall somewhere between the Nexus 7 (£199 / $336 / AU$360) and the Nexus 10 (£319 / $538 / AU$578), so maybe it will be around £275 / $464 / AU$498.
Nexus 8 display
Going
by the name you'd logically assume that the Nexus 8 would have an
8-inch display, or something very close to that, but in fact it looks
like it might stretch to 8.9 inches.
That 8.9-inch size has popped up more than once
while the idea of an 8.3-inch slate seems to have disappeared into the
ether, so 8.9 inches is looking likely. 8.9 inches might also make more
sense, as 8.3 inches isn't drastically bigger than the Nexus 7. Now, 8.9
inches could encroach on the Nexus 10 but that's been MIA for a while.
The first resolution rumors
for the 8.9-inch size pointed to 2048 x 1440, however @evleaks, who's
shared a number of details on the device and is fairly reliable as
tipsters go, claims that the slate is being tested with a 1680 x 1050
screen, but that it will ship with a 2560 x 1600 display, so we could be in for some seriously crisp visuals.
Since
this larger screen size was put forward some leaks have started
referring to the Nexus 9, but it's largely thought that the Nexus 8 and 9
are one and the same.
Nexus 8 design
It's not entirely clear what the Nexus 8 will look like. On the one hand we've heard that Google wants a new design
for its new slate, which is apparently part of the reason why it's
reportedly teamed up with HTC rather than Asus. But on the other it's
been reported that the Nexus 8 is similar to the Nexus 7.
So
we're not sure what to make of it yet. But it's looking increasingly
likely that HTC is the company behind the tablet, so there's a good
chance that it will have a premium design and perhaps even be carved
from aluminium like the HTC One M8.
In fact a leaked specs list obtained by Android Police
mentions a zero gap aluminium construction with tapered sides,
front-facing stereo speakers, a 0.31-inch thickness and a weight of 418
grams. Sounds good. We have seen a few possible glimpses of the Nexus 9 too. Our first sign of it was a mystery tablet that appeared late last year in one of Google's promotional images. It's not clear what it is but it looks too big to be a Nexus 7 and too small for the Nexus 10, so the Nexus 8 seems logical.
You can't tell much from the image, but what is clear is that it's running Android 4.4 KitKat, has slim bezels and on-screen navigation buttons. That was the last we saw of it for a long time, but more recently a device that's supposedly the Nexus 8 appeared in photos sent to MyDrivers.com. Sadly it's in a protective case so it's hard to make out any details. It's popped up again as a render in a document detailing Android L.
As it's a render it could just be a generic slate cooked up for the
image, but that would seem an odd move by Google when it could just use
one of its real tablets for the picture.
However it's
different to the first image we saw, as the bezels appear bigger and it
has front-facing speakers. Though like that image there are on-screen
buttons. The front-facing speakers are also reminiscent of HTC's
smartphones and of other rumors about the slate, which adds legitimacy
to it, especially given that HTC is looking like the probable
manufacturer. Alongside
a specs list for the device, Android Police got hold of an image in a
brochure. It's not very clear, but based on it along with the
accompanying information they created the above mock-up of what the
slate might actually look like.
However more recent than any of these images was a tweet by @evleaks,
claiming that the Nexus 8 will have a silver aluminium unibody and
BoomSound speakers, but that all previous images of the device were
'fake', so we may not have seen it yet after all. Or
not really anyway, though @evleaks also tweeted an extreme close-up of
the back of the Nexus 8, which reveals next to nothing, but highlights
two watermarks. One says 'flounder' which is a code name that's been associated with the Nexus 8 in the past and the other mentions Android Silver, which was thought to be a successor to the Nexus program.
Nexus 8 specs
Initial rumors
pointed to the Nexus 8 having 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 4600
mAh battery, but that was back when LG was thought to be making it, so
that all seems unlikely now.
Since then rumors have started suggesting an increasingly powerful device. In January we heard that it might come packing a 64-bit quad-core Intel Bay Trail-T processor. Then in June we heard that it would arrive with a 64-bit Qualcomm processor and 3GB of RAM.
Then a specs listing obtained by Android Police pointed to a desktop class NVIDIA Tegra K1 64-bit processor and 2GB of RAM, as well as 8MP and 3MP cameras.
However the most recent rumors, this time from @evleaks,
suggest that it will ship with a monstrous 5GB of RAM, alongside the
previously rumored 64-bit Tegra K1 processor. With a 64-bit processor it
can support that much RAM, but @evleaks does mention that it's a
'non-final' amount, so it may well drop lower before release.
He
also claims that it will come with 64GB of storage and is currently
equipped with a 5MP camera, which can shoot video in 1080p, though he
theorises that it may be upped to 8MP before it launches.
We're expecting the iPad Air 2 to make waves this year as well.
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