New Nexus 7 To Debut Next Week, Video And Specs Leaked
The Nexus 7 sequel has been on the docket for a long time, and rumoured specifications have been floating around for months — a 7-inch 1280×800 display, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 SoC, 2GB RAM, a 1.2MP front-facing camera, 5MP rear camera, Android 4.3 — but nothing has been confirmed.
Today Google started sending out invites to a “breakfast” conference being held next week with Android head, Sundar Pichai, but Engadget got their hands on an internal OfficeMax document stating that the “new Google Nexus 7″ is also launching next week. Coincidence? Probably not.
The device is expected to launch at $229 USD for the 16GB model, increasing to $269 for the 32GB version. Not the $199 we saw the original debut at, but this is a much more powerful machine.
The more interesting info comes from Android Central, who got their hands on the device itself. “we have no idea if what we see here is a finished product, or prototype,” cautions the site, but the pics certainly look legitimate.
The only change from previously rumoured specs according to Android Central being the inclusion of 4GB of RAM (unlikely) and a slower Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC. And, of course, it will be manufactured once again by Asustek.
[youtube id=”HXrcUyCVA6c” width=”100%” height=”300px”]
The new design appears to mimic its predecessor. The Nexus insignia on the rear is similarly placed as before, as are the various buttons, rockers and ports. There are two speakers on the device, which will provide stereo sound playback and hopefully be an improvement over the original.
The design is also slightly more squared-off than last year’s model, but we can’t be sure if what we’re seeing is a prototype or a finished product.
Google is also expected to launch Android 4.3 next week, a small but important update to the current software. The existing Nexus 7, as well as the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 should receive the new version in the weeks following the announcement.
For its part, Apple is also expected to refresh its 8-inch tablet in the not-so-distant future.Recent rumors suggest that a new version of the iPad mini will launch alongside a redesigned iPad 5 this fall, though it doesn’t sound like it’ll get the Retina treatment.
What do you think of the next-gen Nexus 7 thus far?
