Google Nexus 8 could arrive in mid-2014 with Intel inside

Intel powered Nexus 8 may arrive in mid-2014
This, but bigger?

A Nexus 8 tablet may be with us as soon as the middle of the year and it might ditch Qualcomm in favor of an Intel Bay Trail-T processor.

That's according to DigiTimes, which spoke to sources from the 'upstream supply chain', although we've found these particular information providers very hit and miss in the past.

The source claims that this new focus on an 8-inch tablet is in response to disappointing sales of the new Nexus 7.

Bit by bit

The source goes on to say that Asus, the company which currently makes the Nexus 7, will probably end up making the Nexus 8 too and that while an Intel processor is certainly possible, Qualcomm is still in the running too. If it does end up packing a Bay Trail-T processor then you can expect 64-bit quad-core performance.

No other details have been revealed, but the source states that additional information is likely to be available after February, which suggests that an MWC unveiling is probably not on the cards.

This isn't the first time we've heard rumors that Google might be working on an 8-inch Nexus tablet, but what was once thought to be the Nexus 8 turned out to be the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.

A device which could give the actual Nexus 8 a run for its money given how impressed we were by the standard version of the LG G Pad 8.3.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.