Google announces 8.9-inch HTC-made Nexus 9 tablet, preorder Oct. 17, ships Nov 3

Alongside Android 5.0 Lollipop announcements and the new Nexus 6 smartphone, Google has officially announced the much rumoured Nexus 9 tablet. The device is made by HTC, features an 8.9-inch display, and Google also has a companion keyboard folio (pictured below) that attaches magnetically to the Nexus 9:

Next, a new tablet built in partnership with HTC. Nexus 9, with brushed metal sides and 8.9-inch screen, is small enough to easily carry around in one hand, yet big enough to work on. And since more and more people want to have the same simple experience they have on their tablets when they have to do real work, we designed a keyboard folio that magnetically attaches to the Nexus 9, folds into two different angles and rests securely on your lap like a laptop.

The tablet includes black, gold, and white colour options, brushed metal sides and what Google calls a “soft grip back.” Other specs listed by Google include an 8.9-inch IPS LCD (2048×1536), 6700 mAh battery, 8MP main camera, 1.6MP front camera, 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.3GHz processor, Kepler DX1 GPU, and HTC BoomSound front-facing speakers. The tablet will be available in 16GB and 32GB variants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYHY3MFiq1o

Google also announced Android Lollipop today, which the Nexus 9 and Nexus 6 will come with out of the box, and confirmed the release will ship publicly in the coming weeks alongside the new devices launching.

The new Nexus 9 tablet will be available to preorder starting at $399 on October 17 and officially ship and hit stores on November 3. Google’s new Nexus 6 will become available on the same dates through carrier partners AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and Verizon as well as unlocked through Google Play. Google didn’t specify where the Nexus 9 will be available but we’re guessing at least through Google Play on the initial launch dates.