Will Google push for a Nexus 7 2016 release date anytime soon? The question emerged as the HTC-made Nexus 9 tablet disappeared without notice from the Play Store, sparking rumors that launch of the replacement - more compact at 7-inch profile - is happening soon, likely within the 2016 I/O that kicks off May 18.
Android Police reported that the 8.9-inch Nexus 9 appeared to have been unceremoniously pulled out from the Google Play Store. There was no advisory ahead of the move, which the report said was the usual case for products marked to be discontinued.
It looked like that the tablet was totally purged from the Google online store as the product left no trace at all. "The N9 doesn't even show up on the Google Store's search page," the report said.
The Nexus 9 exit, however, came as no surprise at all as the tablet hardly inspired a following. "The Nexus 9 never really clicked - not as an Android tablet, not as a Nexus device, and certainly not as the premium, segment-leading gadget that Google and HTC wanted it to be," Android Police observed.
The tablet was seriously bogged down by nagging performance issues, poor battery life and a device build approach that included the use of plastic, which many Android fans have long rejected for a flagship.
According to 9to5Google, pitted against the competition, the Nexus 9 "never really had a chance." The same report blamed "some shoddy hardware quality and lots of annoying performance issues," as key points of the monumental failure.
But in making the Nexus 9 disappear, Google seems ready to correct its mistake by replacing the tablet with an easier to handle 7-inch slate. Speculations are rife that the more compact device will be a creation of Huawei and the final cut will be largely patterned after the well-received Nexus 6P, only in scaled up rendition.
Huawei is said to be assembling a vanilla Android tablet that can compete with the iPad Mini 4 from Apple, sparking rumors that the third Nexus 7 instalment will be of premium packaging with high-end specifications inside and out.
There are talks that the Nexus 7 2016 will be the first device to run on Android N, which Google is said to launch at the I/O Developers Conference this coming May. So fans are expecting that release date will follow soon.