Google partner Asus is doing some house cleaning and now sells the Nexus 7 2013 with LTE access in Asia for as low as $175. As always the case, the latest price off on a Nexus device likely foretells a nearing release date and for this year it will be for the Nexus 2015.
The Nexus 7 2 promo, according to Philippine-based tech blog site YugaTech, will run on limited period, until July 30, and buyers can take home the pure Android tablet with significant savings. For those picking up the 16GB variant, the cash damage is only around $175 from the original price of $300 when the slate was introduced.
For the 32GB model that originally arrived with a $350 sticker price in the Philippines, the asking price is down to $220. As mentioned, the Nexus 7 models being offered are with LTE cellular chip, which means that the devices can access high-speed wireless Internet where it is available.
The last Nexus 7 model was rolled out around two years but the specifications remain competitive as bannered by the quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro that spins at top speed of 1.5GHz. The processor is tapped on 2GB of RAM that says of snappy performance.
For its graphic engine, the Nexus 7 2013 relies on Adreno 320 that fires up the 7-inch screen in 1920 x 1200 screen resolution with pixel density of 323 pixels per inch. As of June this year, the tablet is already on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and should upgrade to the next Android build when it becomes available.
Geek Snack, however, said in a new report that Lollipop 5.1.1 may be the last for the Nexus 7 brand as Android M is unlikely to come to the tablet. Almost certainly, this is true for the Nexus 7 2012 edition as the device is way past the 18-month software support that Google has recently set for all Android devices, the Nexus product lines including.
But is possible that the 2013 version might get a reconsideration, which is a course of action that Google has the last say.
Regardless, the Nexus 7 2013 offering cheaper price tags could also mean that Google and its retail and manufacturing partners are now in a preparation mode. Pushing out the remaining stocks of existing Nexus devices hints that the tech giant is making room for fresh units to come.
Now it is unlikely that a Nexus 7 2015 will come as Google has no plans to refresh its tablet line this year so the safest to expect is the flagship Nexus smartphone. It remains unconfirmed but Google is said to issue two models this 2015 - the LG Nexus Bullhead and the Huawei Nexus Angler. And release date for both devices is rumored to happen as early as September.