Huawei is back on the Nexus project with a Nexus 7 tablet for 2016, rumours assert.
While the Huawei made Nexus 6P has actually had actually a few reported technical problems, on the whole, it seems, lots of people are fairly pleased with both Google’s 2015 Nexus offerings, which also includes the LG-made Nexus 5X. So in spite of a couple of characteristics Google will, presumably, bring Huawei back for another go inside 2016. That’s one set of rumours anyway, however as is frequently the case with these things, there are numerous voices suggesting a range of other possibilities, consisting of HTC, LG, and Motorola, among others.
The extremely earliest rumours we heard recommended that rather than working on another Nexus 6 model (or possibly as well as?) Huawei is being drafted in to re-boot another member of Google’s existing Nexus family – the Nexus 7 tablet.
Next nexus tablet 2016: what to expect?
The last two generations of Nexus 7 proved quite popular with consumers, however for a while Google reined in its tablet efforts: it didn’t reboot the popular Nexus 10, and we have not heard murmurings of a brand-new Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 for a great long while. With tablet sales declinging across the board, in a way this move away from tablets was an understandable one, however for whatever factor, it appears, Google may be considering another crack at the area.
The word comes via AndroidHeadlines, which asserts the brand-new tablet will be introduced next year as a Nexus 7 (2016), and it’ll be made by Huawei. Of course, it’s worth pointing out that the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P were rumoured as the Nexus 5 (2015) and Nexus 6 (2015) respectively, but Google appears to have changed its calling convention. We discovered through the comments of Google engineers post-launch that the ‘X’ and ‘P’ monikers were very intentionally chosen to symbolize the place of each device in the Nexus range (‘X’ being the core of the ‘Nexus’ brand, and ‘P’ being ‘Premium’), so it appears rather most likely to us that Google will come up with something similar for the 2016 Nexus 7 edition.
In other Nexus-based news, word on the street recommends HTC has been commissioned by Google to develop its 2016 Nexus handsets. Nothing has been announced officially just yet by either Google or HTC, so this is quite a rumour as of right now.
News of the collaboration came by means of China’s Weibo network and is among the first slices of news we’ve heard about Google’s 2016 Nexus handsets. There will be two handsets– one with a 5in display, the other a 5.5 in setup– and both will run Android N.
The original Nexus 7 set the tablet market alight and jump-started consumer interest in more inexpensive tablet options. The Nexus 7 showed that you didn’t need to spend BIG BUCKS to obtain a decent tablet experience and, since it launched the same year as the remarkable Nexus 4, the slate did an outstanding job of promoting the virtues of going pure Android with a Nexus device, giving users an option of both tablet and smartphone.
Back in 2012 the Nexus 7 was selling like hot cakes. As per CNET’s report from the age, Asus reported that sales began at around 500,000 a month, which then increased to 600, the 700K before topping out at close to a million system sales per month during the third quarter of 2012. Likewise, Apple sold around 14 million iPads during the same quarter. Still, though, one million deliveries a month is quite damn great for a spending plan Android tablet.
Amazon and a whole host of other companies did the same, but it was the Nexus 7 that predominantly stole the hearts and minds of consumers. It was deadly cheap and stuffed with fantastic specs and hardware. I keep in mind checking it in 2012 and being blown away by just how excellent it was– it ran Max Payne without breaking sweat and stock Android looked merely superb working on its big 7in screen. The Nexus 7 was the first Android tablet I ever fell in love with.
AH’s source declares the project is “already on the way” and might be gone for 2016’s Google I/O conference, which would most likely be someplace between June-August if previous years are any sign.
Unfortunately there’s not much more to go on at the minute, however we can make a couple of informed guesses. For starters it will, obviously, feature a 7in display (thanks Captain Obvious), and it’ll likely be either the debut device or one of a number of devices running a fresh brand-new construct of Android; we ‘d be looking at Android N by this point, and while the version numbers are less foreseeable it might well be Android 7.0.
“Android N will bring a polished split-screen mode for tablets and smartphones alike,” states Android Pit, “making yet another third-party addition a core part of stock Android, just like Battery Saver in Lollipop and fingerprint support in Marshmallow. The factor it has taken Google this long to bring split-screen is down to two factors: Google needs to optimise the function for all screen sizes, definitions and densities; Google must make the feature universal so all applications, not simply a few, operate in split screen.”.
We will also obviously get our first take a look at Google’s merger of ChromeOS and Android at this year’s Google I/O event. Neither platform is being killed, nevertheless, and the two will collaborate effortlessly as part of one another. We have a piece about the Galaxy S6 which speculates about the possibility of what’s possible with handsets running 6GB of RAM and modern CPUS when joined up with dummy laptops.
“Chrome is essentially being folded into Android,” states The Verge, “due to the fact that Android has actually become the dominant operating system by fairly a long stretch. Integrating the two operating systems means setting up Android to work on laptops and desktop computers, which would require huge changes, as well as supporting the Google Play Store. Chromebooks will apparently get a brand-new name to show the brand-new OS.”.
As for the confectionary name? Nougat? Nutella? Your guess is as great as ours.
In regards to specs and hardware the Nexus 7 2016 will likely be a largely different beast to what came before. Inside we might see a Snapdragon 810 CPU– Huawei seems to be the only OEM that can tame it–, 3GB of RAM and upgraded wireless radios, like assistance for 4G and improved Wi-Fi connectivity.
A QHD panel might make an appearance as well, though this could be rather contentious– Google will wish to keep the price low, so concessions will have to be made. BUT, viewing as this is mostly a device for taking in media you ‘d believe Google would make cuts in other places (RAM, imaging, CPU and radios).
Personally, I ‘d be happy with a terrific display screen and middle of the road specs: all I utilize my tablet for is searching the web and seeing movies in bed, so I do not need the most recent and greatest hardware inside it. That way you keep the core Nexus 7 experience whilst having a number of brand-new features but all the while keeping the price good and competitive.
We would hope, nevertheless, that Google does follow up on the likewise Huawei-made Nexus 6P with its premium metal build by offering something comparable on the Nexus 7 (2016). Stay tuned as there’s sure to be more rumours upcoming and we’ll upgrade appropriately as and when.
