Has Google given us a sneak peek at some unannounced new tablet? Perhaps, and it wouldn’t be the first time the company has leaked future hardware either, as it did so several times with the recently announced Nexus 5 smartphone. This time, eagle-eyed visitors to the official Android Apps and Entertainment promo page have spotted a tablet which they didn’t recognize.
The picture shows a compact tablet with a surprisingly slim bezel, being used to browse Google Play. There’s a set of on-screen Android buttons, and what looks like a curvy, hard shell rear cover. It’s clearly not the 2013 Nexus 7, which may not have much bezel down the sides of the screen, but has plenty at either end.
So what is it? Well, it’s a mystery. Online speculators have been calling it the Nexus 8, and if we’re forced to say which tablet it resembles the closest, we would have to choose the Apple iPad Mini or the LG G Pad 8.3. The latter comparison makes sense too, as LG has built the last two Nexus smartphones, so continuing its streak with a mid-size tablet isn’t much of a stretch.
Asus and Samsung have been responsible for the last two Google tablets, the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 respectively, and although rumors have been gathering about a 2013 Nexus 10 model, nothing has been made official yet. When, and if, it does arrive, will it be joined by a mid-size, iPad Mini-challenging tablet similar to the G Pad 8.3? It’s certainly possible. There’s a considerable $170 price difference between the Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10, so a $300 tablet with an approximately 8-inch display would fit neatly into Google’s range.
Of course, there’s nothing to say this isn’t just a generic tablet used for promo purposes in the advert, and as it’s still live on the site at the time of writing, it does suggest Google’s not that concerned about us getting a good look. So, it could all turn out to be nothing, but it’s still fun to speculate, especially given Google’s recent track record of leaking its own products.