Supply chain rumormonger tips 1080p display, thinner bezel, same price point
The ASUS-made Nexus 7 has been a runaway success — arguably the most successful Android tablet yet, and certainly the most popular Nexus device to date. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that a successor might be in the works, and due for launch later this year.
That’s exactly what’s being reported by Taiwanese outlet DigiTimes, which cites its sometimes right, sometimes wrong supply chain sources with access to “engineering samples” of the tablet. The site claims the ASUS-built Nexus 7 successor (Nexus 8, perhaps?) will feature a “full HD” 1080p display, thinner bezels and the same attractive $199-249 price point. “Several specifications” will also be upgraded, DigiTimes says, though no specifics are given.
The site’s sources also estimate total Nexus 7 shipments at six million as of the end of January, with the $249 32GB Wifi-only version being the most popular at present.
This is the first we’ve heard of a possible Nexus 7 follow-up, but there’s nothing terribly shocking in there as far as we’re concerned. The Nexus 7’s low price has been instrumental in its success, and so any successor was likely to be priced around the same level. In addition, with mobile device screen resolutions reaching dizzying heights this year, the Nexus tablet’s screen is an obvious point for improvement.
Then again, given the patchy nature of supply chain rumblings, a large pinch of salt should be taken when dealing with this kind of rumor. Either way, we’ll be on the ground in San Francisco in May to see what new hardware Google brings to this year’s I/O conference.
Source: DigiTimes