HTC will reportedly produce Google’s 8-inch Nexus tablet

When Google set out to make its first Nexus handset, the company decided to tap HTC, but over four years and several purebred Android devices later the two tech titans have yet to rekindle their partnership. However, things could possibly be changing, according to a report from DigiTimes. At some point during the third quarter of the year, Google will reportedly announce an 8-inch HTC-made Nexus tablet.

If you’ve been keeping track of Google’s Nexus slabs, two 7-inch tablets have been produced by Asus, with the company’s larger 10-inch Nexus 10 manufactured by Samsung. In addition to using a new manufacturing partner, Google’s unannounced Nexus tablet is rumored to feature a new design that differs from the company’s previous slates.

While we’ll take this rumor with a grain of salt, this isn’t the first time that we’ve heard murmurs of Google and HTC reuniting to work on a new Nexus device. Most recently the two companies joined forces to release a Google Play Edition of the recently released HTC One (M8). So, it’s not like they’re completely out of touch with each other. But until either operation comes forward, we won’t be holding our breath. Thankfully Google I/O is almost here and if such a device were in the works, we’d expect it to be announced during the search giant’s big annual event.