As HTC is all but confirmed as maker of Google's Nexus 2016 flagship smartphones - codenamed Sailfish and Marlin - Android fans re-train their attention on the rumored Stock Android tablet thought to be labeled Nexus 7 2016. Speculations are rife that Huawei will produce the third Nexus compact slate and the release date is likely happen no later than November.
According to Mobile & Apps, Google has scheduled the next-generation Nexus 7 to unbox immediately after the Nexus 2016 phones, which in recent leaks are said to come out printed with the G (Google logo) branding instead of the familiar Nexus. In the same report, the supposed new challenger to Apple's iPad Mini and Samsung's Galaxy Tab S2 will debut via the Google Play Store in time for the 2016 Thanksgiving Day festivities, or November 24 to be exact.
Powering the Nexus 7 is NVIDIA's Tegra X1 processing chip, the report added though noting too that in earlier reports Google would want the same engine power of the Nexus 2016 phones to be firing up the tablet counterpart. That would be Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 that likely will be paired with 4GB of RAM.
As Google's devices are usually unpacked without provision for memory expansion, talks of Nexus 7 edition with 128GB of built-in storage have surfaced but it remains unclear if multiple storage configurations will be provided or there will be 32GB and 64GB variants.
On the software side, it is confirmed that Android 7.0 Nougat will run the Nexus 7 2016 show and along that line is likely to get the exclusive Nougat feature upgrades such as the Nexus Launcher and the animated Home button that will highlight the upgraded Google Search and Now on Tap features.
In addition, "the Google Nexus 7 tablet is expected to have new features like Virtual Reality Platform Daydream, new folder looks, new Emojis, Night mode option, launcher shortcuts, enhanced Doze app, multi-window support and remote bug reports facility," Game 'N' Guide reported.
And the builder as mentioned will be China's Huawei, which in 2015 impressed the Android crowd with the premium Nexus 6P. It is believed that the new Nexus 7 will be largely the scaled up version of the Nexus 6P but with significantly upgraded components.
On its supposed November release date, the Nexus 7 2016 tablet is expected to fly off the shelves thanks to its solid pricing that Mobile & App said will start at $260.