Refreshed Nexus 7 to be announced at Google I/O

With the big two of CES and MWC out of the way, it’s time for Nexus season to begin. As Google I/O looms closer, we are beginning to hear more and more about what is about to be shown off by the company, come May.

Google usually shows off the best that it has conjured up in the year and over the years at I/O. And this year too, the company is rumoured to be preparing a star-studded cast for those lucky enough to make it there. Digitimes says the Mountain View company will unveil the second-gen Nexus 7 running the next iteration of Android, widely believed to be v5.0 Key Lime Pie.

The reports further state that Asus and Google will be renewing their partnership for the new Nexus 7. We are not hearing any new names for the tablet. According to the rumour, the tablet will run Android 5.0, which will also be unveiled at Google I/O. The 7-inch follow-up to the 2012 model will reportedly cost $249 (Rs 13,500 approx) and will come with “enhanced specifications”. For starters, we hope that means a 32GB base model and a higher-res display.

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The original Nexus 7, launched at last year’s Google I/O

It’s not just tablets though; earlier rumours talked about Google announcing the Motorola X Phone at the event. The X Phone was earlier rumoured to be the first device to launch with Android 5.0, but it looks like it will have to share the limelight with two other devices.

Previously, we’d heard that the new Nexus 7 could arrive with a full HD display, which would increase the pixel density from the current model’s 216 ppi and closer to the what the new Retina iPad mini is expected to bring.

Reportedly, Google and Asus have decided to replace the original Nexus 7 CPU maker NVIDIA and are going with Qualcomm. This is likely due to the Qualcomm SoC’s radio chip integration feature. Even though Nvidia has released the Tegra 4i with an integrated 4G LTE chip, it was not out in time for the Nexus 7’s production schedule.

Based on what we know so far, Google is about to bring more to I/O. A Play News section for the Play Store has been in the talk, and so has a new unified messaging app, Babble.

Then there’s Google Keep, which from the looks of it is directly in competition with one of the most popular smartphone apps, Evernote. All these apps will most likely play a major role in Android 5.0. Let us know which features you want to see the most in the next version of Android.