It looks like Google wants to continue the Nexus program, at least on tablets. A new report, backed by sources in Taiwan and China, where the Nexus 9 will be manufactured before official launch, claims it will pack some impressive specs.
Starting on the internals, the Nexus 9 will carry the Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, a huge upgrade in graphics performance compared to the previous Nexus 10 tablet, alongside 4GB of RAM, the highest we have seen in any tablet.
The latter part of the internals could be put under some scrutiny, considering no tablet currently has 4GB of RAM. The Tegra K1 processor is more believable, considering it is already in some mobile devices and Nvidia are actively looking for partners.
Google might add a 2560 x 1600 resolution display to the Nexus 9 as well. This is not a large upgrade to the Nexus 10, hopefully work has been put into color saturation, to make the video and gaming on the tablet more enjoyable.
According to most sources, Google will offer out the tablet at around $300, undercutting the usual price for high-end Android tablets. This could make the Nexus 9 a rather successful device, where the Nexus 10 could not appeal to most.
Asus will most likely develop the Nexus 9, codenamed Volantis. HTC and Motorola have been citied by different sources, but most of the reliable information points to Asus, the manufacturer of both Nexus 7 tablets.
The Nexus 9 should come running Android L, the new OS update coming to the mobile platform. This brings Material Design, new notifications, third party cards, ART runtime and improvements on performance, especially on the low-end.
Google has always been a bit awkward when it comes to release dates and events. It would surely be more useful for them to launch Nexus devices at Google I/O, but they have avoided hardware announcement at the event like the plague.
The Nexus 9 should land sometime this Fall, precise dates point to a September release.
